Chest of Drawers – Robin’s Egg French Beauty

I was able to finish my chest of drawers today. It came out beautifully. It has been painted with a Robin’s Egg blue, distressed and french labels for knobs added.
This was a Craigslist purchase, it is a solid wood chest of drawers that had been painted dark brown. It is in good condition, very sturdy. The only trouble was the drawers did not want to slide out easily, nothing a little wax on the wood rails didn’t cure.

The photos above show it after I had sanded the first layer of paint off. If you notice I did sand one drawer all the way down to the bare wood. I considered stripping the paint and refinishing the chest of drawers with a stain but the robin’s egg blue paint was calling my name.
I sanded, cleaned and primed the chest and then added two coats of Behr Liquid Blue paint. While it was drying I worked on the knobs. The original wood knobs came with the chest of drawers and they too had been painted brown. I painted them white and added some beautiful french labels I found on The Graphics Fairy Blog.
I sprayed painted the wood knobs white. While they dried I printed off the french labels, and after cutting them out, I used Tim Holtz distress ink on the labels to antique them a bit. I then used mod podge to affix the labels to the knobs. The knobs are 1.25” and I printed the labels at 1”. I added a coat of stain to distress the white knobs so they would not look so white. Finally, two light coats of spray lacquer the knobs were done.

The next step was to distress the chest of drawers, since it is a vintage piece of furniture I wanted to show its age. I took a orbital sander with 220 grit paper and lightly sanded the edges of the chest and the drawers. I then hand sanded a few areas of the drawers and the sides until I thought it looked distressed enough. I always wonder if I am going to take too much paint off and end up repainting the whole thing.

Here is a list of the supplies I used for this project and final photos.
SUPPLIES
Sander
Tack cloths
Kiltz primer
Behr Liquid Blue paint
Labels printed from The Graphics Fairy
Mod Podge
Stain applied on knobs only
Lacquer for the knobs
Furniture Wax

Projects in the works

 

I have very little time to work on crafty projects the past couple of weeks.  With school, field trips, migraines and general busy stuff, it is hard to find time to get any work done.  I have a list a mile long and so many ideas, now if I could just find some time.    Here are a few items I have picked up on Craigslist in the past couple of weeks I have plans for. 

 

I  bought  this dining room table and 4 chairs for $40.00.  The table is in fairly good condition.  The legs needed a little tightening and the top has a bit of damage.  I plain on painting and distressing the table.  The chairs are in good  shape overall.  The fabric on the chairs is John Deere!  Who puts John Deere fabric on a dining room set?  I have already stripped the fabric and I found they had used insulation for the foam backing on the seats, that had to be removed and I will replace it with proper foam and Waverly fabric.   I plan on testing out my new air sprayer for painting the chairs. 

 

I bought this solid wood dresser from Craigslist for $20.00.  The picture shows it after one pass of the sander, it had been painted brown.  It is in great condition, the drawers need a little conditioning so they don’t squeak and that is it.  I am trying to decide between stripping and staining or painting it robin’s egg blue.  Considering my love of the color I found,  I bet you can guess which way I am leaning. 

 

 

I have had this cabinet for a couple of years, it was used in my craft room for a while and now it resides in the garage for storage.  I am thinking of transforming it into a kitchen island  with a reclaimed wood top.  Just an idea for now. 

                                                                       

I have found another school desk.  After refinishing the last school desk, I have gone on a desk quest.  I have been searching on craigslist and yard sales for more desks to redo. 

 

There are a few projects I am working on right now.  I have a huge list but these will keep me busy for a bit.

Farmhouse Kitchen Island / Cart

Kitchen Island/Cart

Total Cost – $28.00

I finally finished the farmhouse island/cart. It seems like it has taken forever, with the heat and starting school back, there has been little time to work on projects. I so happy to finish this project and having gotten to use some of the reclaimed wood we have been collecting for the farmhouse kitchen table, I can not wait to start the table.

The inspiration for this mini island or cart, came from Ana at Knock Off Wood. I just love her island and I wish I had the space for a large piece like that in my kitchen. I don’t but I do however, have this little nook beside my french doors that I have been trying to find something to fit there for years. I decided with a little adjusting I could make the same design on a small simpler scale. It took a bit of pencil and paper work and rework to get the measurements, but I got it figured out. After that part was done it was a easy project to build.

The final size of my island/cart is 30”H x 26”W x 21”D. The supplies I used were:

Reclaimed wood for top – FREE

Reclaimed 4x4 – FREE

1x6x8 Pine Board – $4.96

1x3x8 (5) - $6.25

2x4x8 – $0.00 Extra I had laying around

Heavy Duty Casters (4) - $11.00

Screws - $5.00

Kilz – Had

White Paint – Had

Walnut Glaze – Had

Polyurethane in Satin – Had

The hardest part was notching out the 4x4s for the 2x4 supports. Once that was done the rest of the cuts were easy and assemble took little time. I hope next time I remember to paint the pieces first before painting. Painting all the 1x3s and sides to the island after it was assemble was a pain in the neck. It took the longest time.

After assembling the base of the cart, I primed, painted, distress the paint by sandpapering some of the paint back off, and then I added a walnut glaze. For the reclaimed wood on the top I sanded and added 2 coats of polyurethane in satin. The wood worked wonderfully with the polyurethane, it gave it a glow but kept all the weathered uniqueness of the wood. I then added the casters so as needed the cart can be rolled around the kitchen for extra space. It will come in handy this holiday season.

This was a great project and has made me want to get started on my kitchen table. I have almost all the wood I need for it and look forward to building it.

Love the top                               Distressed

My Favorite Project – Farmhouse Bed

What is your favorite project, so far? This is the question from Rory on Tools are for Women too, linky party. Just click the picture above to join the party!

I would say it is usually what I am currently working on or just finished. I could say it is the school desk I just repainted in Robin’s Egg Blue, while I love how the desk came out but it is the color I adore. I have had errant thoughts of painting half my house that color, my husband would just love that!

Or I could choose the satin rose pens I have made and sold for years, they have provided extra spending money.

But I had to pick the farmhouse bed my husband and I built together. We found the plans for the bed from Knock Off-Wood website. It was not difficult to build and it was a fun project to make. I love it because it something we did together.

Here is more information on the Farmhouse Bed.

Antique School Desk – A New Look

School Desk - $21.00

I have been looking for a school desk for my son.  I found one listed on Craigslist for $20.00 and after a few issues with the seller forgetting to meet me twice, I was able to buy the desk for $10.00.  It was in good condition, very sturdy with a few cracks and in need of refinishing. 

 

 

I knew I wanted to paint it Robin’s Egg Blue, with a chalkboard desktop.  A trip to the hardware store was necessary to purchase paint.  I bought Behr Liquid Blue in satin finish.  The paint cost $11.00 for a quart, it was more than the desk.   However, I have most of the paint left and am earnestly looking for more items to paint blue, it is a beautiful color. 

 

 

First order of business was to clean the gum off the bottom, sand and prime.  After cleaning and sanding, I put on a coat of Kilz primer.

 

Then two coats of Liquid Blue and four coats of chalkboard paint later.  I applied the chalkboard paint with foam brush, for a even smooth finish. 

 

 

Lastly, I did some distressing.  I sanded off parts of the paint where it would have naturally rubbed off from use.  I hand sanded the edges and corners using 150 grit sandpaper.

 

 

All done.