Sunday, August 23, 2009

Weekend Project

Want a work-out? Forget about using an electric sander and sand that piece of furniture down yourself! I did a lot of sanding this past weekend. I have to say it was pretty intense, considering how hot and humid it was. But I had so much fun!

I spend a lot of time in front of the computer for work, so the slight exhaustion I felt after completing these two little projects was actually nice! The first piece of furniture I made-over is at the bottom, it's the white bookshelf. I didn't get a chance to take a before photo and I almost forgot to take an after picture. The after picture was taken at the last minute, in my poorly lit kitchen, so I cropped-out the yellow-tinted background :P. The paint color I used is called white cotton. I put on 2 heavy coats of primer and 2 coats of paint. Other than the sanding, rolling on the primer took quite awhile. I think I primed it too much? Not sure.

The second piece of furniture that received a quick weekend make-over is the abandoned 2 drawer end table pictured directly below. I found it next to someone's trash can last year when I was taking a walk, so I picked it up and carried it home. It was too cute to throw away because it had potential. I was initially thinking about painting it white, until I saw what it looked like after a bit of sanding. It was even cuter than I thought it'd be and the wood smelled so nice! I didn't add a drop of paint or primer to the wood after sanding it down; instead, I focused on roughing up a few of the edges to give it a rustic look. I then replaced the ugly metal knobs/handles on each drawer with two vintage spools (I used two because each drawer has two ugly holes where the old knobs would be).

Before:

After:

Materials:

This primer is awesome!:
Bookshelf after (before it was a not-so-pretty light brown particle board color):

4 comments:

Tracy said...

That is a sensational makeover, Sophie! I LOVE, love it!! You've really taken something old and make it over into something special. I like that is has been transformed from a "closed" piece and is now a neat, elegant open shelf. Great job! Happy Day, my friend ((HUGS))

Sophie said...

Thanks Tracy :)

Unknown said...

That side table is so cute. How could anyone throw it out? It looks much better after you sanded your little arms away!

Very nice. You've inspired me to get at all the pieces of rescued furniture waiting for me on my porch. If only it wasn't so hot. Well at least it's not humid here. I should just get out there.

Anonymous said...

I can only imagine the challenge of manual sanding! Your arms must ache... in a good post work out sort of way!

The side table looks FABULOUS!

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