The Violet 6-Drawer Drop-Well Vanity

(Before) 

The above photo is the actual photo provided to me on Craigslist.  I drove 2 hours away to pick this one up!  I am in love with these dressing tables/drop-well vanities!  I had some damage to where the center shelf in the dropwell portion was loose and it needed to be repaired.  I also needed to utilize some wood filler for some damaged areas.

I have no idea what the label attached the back must have once read but so wish I did!  I was so excited about the scalloped mirror and looking forward to accenting the two pieces that locked into the mirror just below the mirror wings and you'll see why later because they aren't pictured here!  I am totally all about the flourishes!

The center portion of these pieces is usually damaged and irreparable.  This is why you see so many people cut the center portion out turning them into two separate end tables or nightstands.  I beg of you  to please, please, please try to keep the piece intact and repair it!  If it stands even a remote chance at a repair and you are unable to repair them, please relinquish the piece to someone who can!  I beg of you!  They are so so so gorgeous!  The unique historical value with these pieces is just too valuable and beautiful to completely lose out on!

The center shelf on this piece was indeed broken.  This is due to people picking the piece up by placing a hand under this very fragile shelf.  Do NOT use the center shelves on these pieces as the point onto which you grab for lifting!  You are surely weakening it each and every time you do this. This particular piece was super duper heavy!  The safest way to move it around was to completely remove the mirror altogether.  The mirror itself weighed around 35 pounds! 

 (Evidence of a prior staining repair attempt & shelf separation)

 (More missing veneer)

This piece had a high gloss poly on it which I decided to rough up a bit prior to priming it due to it's dark finish.

 (light sanding scuffing so paint can better adhere)

I was getting tired of the blues and grays and decided to go Old Violet in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint with this one.  I didn't regret that decision!  I also threw in some strategically placed bits of Provence and accents of Old White and had used a little Paris Grey in the center of all surfaces to go from dark to light starting dark on outside and lighter in center.  I also used black wax and clear wax having put the black wax around all the edges of every surface.  I also decided to lightly distress the entire piece! The black wax gave it a bit of a smoky industrial feel, so I also chose to go with some industrial-influenced drawer pulls.  I love how it turned out!

 (glimpses of the Provence color)

 (Here is the side mirror lock panel! Isn't it gorgeous!?)

Here is a pic the new owner sent me of this piece in it's new location!  You can see it perfectly matches the color in the background!

Oh, how I am missing this piece!  Why is it so hard to part with them!?

Antique 4-Drawer Vanity-Dressing Table Refinish

I was just driving down the road minding my own business coming back from getting strawberries from a strawberry farm when I saw this piece sitting outside in someone's dirt driveway.  I did a double take and decided to pull on in!  As I pulled in a man came around to the front and I asked him if it was for sale!  I got it for $85!!

It needed a lot of work and attention.  It had what appeared to be a suede-type finish on the drawer fronts and they were so dried out and shriveled that I knew it just had to be painted to salvage it. The top hadn't been well tended to either over time as you can see above.  It had missing laminate in some spots and a broken applique.

I started with a good washing and then sanding.  This little fella decided to pop out of the deepest and darkest crevice of the drawer cavities at one point.

I primed this piece due to the dark finish it already had to try to prevent color bleeding through and then I painted it a Duck Egg blue, Old White, and Paris Grey from the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint line.  I decided to accentuate certain features, as well as the legs, with the white and gray colors.  Chalk paint is not easy when trying to apply carefully, as it is designed to be applied haphazardly so if you are wanting to detail a piece, be prepared to become part contortionist and for lying on your back on floors after lying pieces down on their backs. I went with the Paris Grey around the mirror as well.

I decided to put new drawer pulls on this piece that I had bought at Hobby Lobby that were too white initially, so I slapped on some Old White to better match this piece and painted the insides of the drawers the Paris Grey.  I finished it all with a clear wax after some very light distressing. 

The mirror also had some minor desilvering marks due to it's age.  

(Mirror desilvering)

Here is the finished piece! 

The Custom Vanity Created from an Antique Double Pedestal Executive Desk

 (Before)

This is a desk-turned-custom-vanity I did a few years ago.  I was really nervous about it because I could not see in person the furniture the woman was asking me to try to match in her bedroom.  She was looking for a vanity and had asked me if I had anything at all that might work, so I presented her a couple of options and she chose this desk!

I started by stripping all of the paint off and sanding and prepping the piece.  The rope detail and trim around the top surface were fun, not!

I then put a couple of coats of primer on this piece due to the deep, dark red undertone stain that could not be completely removed.

 (the red stain refusing to stay put with one coat)

I applied a base coat of Annie Sloan Coco chalk paint and then dry-brushed in some Graphite, Paris Grey, Old White, and some more Coco!  I used the graphite for the pedestal bases and the decorative trim around the top surface.  I also utilized the original hardware on this piece.

 (Each color mixed with a bit of water with brushes for dry-brushing)

 
I had originally painted the pedestal bases the Coco color and having sent her photos of my progress as I went along with a potential mirror option, she requested I switch those up to the Graphite, which was an excellent choice!

She was hoping I could pull off a brown-toned driftwood-type vibe to match her other furniture.  I won't share a photo of the furniture she provided without her permission.  

(Coco pedestal bases)

(Graphite pedestal bases)

(Before wax application that helped blend dry brushing and to deepen the colors)

She was also looking for a mirror for this vanity of which I had only one.  I had Mr Fix It help find a way that we could attach and stabilize this mirror to the back of the vanity!  It worked!

 (The mirror BEFORE pic)

Once I saw the piece in her room, I THEN could totally FEEL it!  I know I have more pictures somewhere and I will update this blog entry with more details as I find those photos!

Here is the final reveal of the vanity in it's new home that she sent me!

(Vanity in it's new home!)

Three-Panel Room Divider Upcycle Into A Headboard

I nabbed a 3-panel room divider with the hopes of finding a new way to repurpose it.  One of my sisters was tossing it out and it had a broken louver on it.  It also had some pretty good gouges in it but when using a chalk-based paint, that can just add some good character.  

After tossing around a few ideas, my youngest son had settled on a new vibe for his room that desperately needed some updating.  He had definitely outgrown the army fighter plane theme he had had since he was a toddler.  He's almost 14 now.  He announced he would like a vacation-type vibe...something that reminds him of our annual family vacations to Florida. We spent months going through various furniture stores and visiting online furniture websites, but it seemed a better option to save a little money and give making one of our own a try and he was all for it.

I walked by the room divider in the basement multiple times and decided I would take a stab at utilizing two of the panels as a headboard.  Yes, it turns out it is abnormally tall for a standard twin-sized bed headboard, but maybe I could save it yet.  After presenting my idea to my Mr Fix It husband, he informed me that we would need to add some support to the back because I seemed to like it better upside down with the louvers on the bottom.  I'm so lucky to have him.  Sure, he groans when I add to his to-do list, but even he admits he kinda digs it once he gets going creatively trying to bring my visions to life for me. I could somehow picture a boathouse vibe with some distressing so decided to give it a go!

Before

Test Shot Before

I started with roughing up the piece a bit since it had a high sheen gloss finish.  What a mess. I also removed the wooden rung that spanned across all of the louvers allowing you to open and close them.  They would become permanently stationery once Mr Fix It attached the extra piece of wood as a support behind the panels.

Roughing Up

I then coated it in Annie Sloan Old White, followed by a layer of Annie Sloan Blue and topped with a couple coats of Annie Sloan Emperor's Silk Red.  I am still not certain what made me go with the red other than I was in a mood to take a chance because I am a little tired of all the blues and grays.  I also added a bit of Barcelona Orange in a drag and drippy fashion for little more of a wear look.

I then distressed the entire surface area except for the bits that would be hidden by the actual mattress and then applied clear wax, which beautifully brings out the richness of the colors and allowing the blue and white to show through here and there.

Distressing

Then I turned it over to Mr. Fix It to add the brace/support to the back.

Side view of added bracing panel on back

In this situation, he needed to put on this pretty substantial piece of wood in the back behind the louvered section because the bed rails needed to firstly attach to this beast of a headboard, secondly needed to have additional strength added to it since he would actually be drilling THROUGH some of the louvers where the bed rails are thereby weakening them, and thirdly to keep the two panels stationary after removing the hinges that allowed it to fold.

Having the panels technically upside down would also make them top heavy and we wanted to keep the damage our little Farley (his nickname for his uncanny ability to destroy most anything he touches) to a minimum....we need Foresight with that child and try to predict what could go wrong in advance.

To trick the eye from noticing the obviously abnormally tall headboard, I decided to hunt for a rustic-style boathouse-vibe light fixture that we could attach to it since Farley likes to read.  Mr. Fix It came along for his input as to how we could turn any light I settled on into a light that actually plugs in that has an on-and-off switch/button built in.  We settled on a light that was initially meant to be wired into a wall and modified it to be a plug-in light fixture.

Voila!

Our little Farley now has a push button built right into the headboard so he can turn the light on and off while lying in bed!

While we were out shopping for the light fixture, I wandered over to the section where they have ship lap and other wooden planks.  I found some wooden wall planks on clearance, bought a couple of packs of them and decided to whitewash them with some Annie Sloan Old White Chalk Paint.  I added a little water and wiped it on and wiped it off to achieve a more weathered and worn look.  I whitewashed prior to installation....and then again after some wood filler was added. 

Whitewashed wooden panels

 

After Mr. Fix It installed all of the planks, I needed to use some wood filler to fill in the nail holes and touch up these spots with more paint. 

Installation in Progress

Behold the hole filled in by a man hand compared to my more precise application above that

Mid-application of a light second coat for more coverage and to cover the wood filler marks

And now for the finished product!! Drumroll please!......

I know I need to work in some reds into the bedding and room, but what do you think?  Did I pull it off or nah?