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The big day has finally arrived - reveal day! Six weeks, 20 bloggers and one room later, my girls' have a new bedroom and I have a new manicure coming my way (catch up on weeks 1-6 of work on the ORC here).

So in the words of Jennifer Grey in Ferris Bueller, 'let's not ruin this with a lot of talk.' Let's get right to the good stuff.

If you follow me on instagram, then you've been getting little sneak peeks for the past few days. Here is where we started.


And six weeks later, here is where we are today.








Learn more about the silhouettes here.





Learn more about the heart artwork here.


Watercolor by Mai Autumn.




Learn more about the vanity here.




Learn more about the dresser here.




And with that I am spent. Happy but spent.

I want to thank all of you for following along and for your encouraging comments and support. I accept this Oscar on behalf of all the....oh wait, that's a different speech.


And a big thanks to my friend Linda for including me. My first two cocktails tonight will be in your honor my dear.

Make sure to check out my fellow ORC ladies to see their beautiful spaces as well. It's like Christmas morning I tell ya.

Now about that cocktail...

How is that for a cleaver title post? Yawn.


I thought I would share what I did right, messed up on, and learned from on this old dresser.

For those of you who are new (welcome by the way) and those that might not remember, I got this dresser about a year ago. Long story short - $70 at an estate sale. Raise that roof people.

Here is the way he looked when I met him. The excitement of finding him obviously prevented me from taking a straight picture.


After a year of heavy use as a changing table/dresser it was showing a lot of wear, which I thought was odd. It's not like we beat it or anything. This should have been my first clue as to how refinishing would go.


It is as sturdy as can be and a solid piece of furniture but I was over the white. So let the project begin.

Since it was a balmy 30 degrees outside when I started this (and maybe 38 in the garage) I knew I'd have to take this project inside. So I pulled out the always trusty Citristrip. And good news, they now also have this stuff in a spray can. Wish I had known that before I started.

There is zero smell with this stuff. In fact it smells kind of minty fresh. And it is low VOC, so no worries about harming the littles with my projects.


Put on way more than this picture shows. Like double this amount. I put some on, took this picture and then put on more. More is more with this stuff.

They also recommend you use gloves but I didn't (I live on the edge). I got some on my hands and I've lived to tell the tale.


The directions will tell you to wait 30 minutes, but I could tell by looking at it after a half hour it wasn't ready. I waited two full hours, or basically until it looks like this. The longer you wait, the less muscle you need.


Then you scrape. And if you've been patient, it just lifts right off. Like butta.

As you can tell from this picture my suspicions were right - those little bastards just painted right over the varnished wood. See how dark that wood is? That's layers and layers of stain and varnish. No wonder it chipped so easily.

You can see that all the varish didn't come off after the first, or second coat. So later, rinse, repeat. I'm going to find the people that painted this thing and shake them. Or make them watch episodes of 1600 Penn. Yes, that would be much worse.


The good news about this product is that you can do another coat as soon as the first one dries, which is usually about 15 minutes or so. And it's stink free too.


Finally it is ready.

Now I had originally planned to go with oil based porch and floor paint, like Jenny has used, to get the high gloss finish I was after. But remember that whole weather issue? I can't paint outside in 30 degree weather and oil based paint in the house with no windows open is a no no.

Luckily after telling my sob story to the smarty pants at Benjamin Moore, he suggested this.


Benjamin Moore Advance. It is a water based alkyd paint so it acts like an oil based paint (self-leveling, high gloss finish, hard laquer like shell) but without killing many brain cells.

Sold.

After talking about my search for the perfect shade of navy paint, I decided to follow Natalie's lead and went with Old Navy by Benjamin Moore.


I used a roller that my new bestie at Benjamin Moore recommended and it worked like a charm. I was a bit nervous after putting on the first coat though as it wasn't as dark as I wanted. But as the hours passed it got darker and darker.

And yes, I did say hours. A full 24 to be exact. That's how long you have to wait in between coats. And I did four coats. That is four days people. Of painting. And then another four days of drying.

Eight days and nights. Just sitting there, waiting for it to develop its hard candy shell. It was my biggest lesson in patience since having a 'willful child'.


But now he's done and looking good. He makes me smile every time I see him. That deep navy and the little sparkle of his gold handles. He looks like a royal admiral in the navy or something. I think I will call him captain.



Look at that glossy top. You can see the reflection of the ceiling in that thing. Oh captain, you are such a show off.


Pulls courtesy of Martha Stewart at Home Depot. Knobs are the same ones I used on the vanity from Hobby Lobby.


The high gloss on the captain makes him wonderful in person, but a bit hard to photograph.


I'm so protective of him I can't really bring myself to put anything on him. But he is calling to be styled I think.

So the lessons learned: Benjamin Moore Advance is aces, Citristrip is a cinch and Sander Deglosser is a lifesaver. And most importantly, do. not. ever. paint over varnish. Or I will find you.

Painted anything lately? Found a piece of furniture that was keeping secrets from you? Want to come over and help me put the girls room together?

Week 5 of the One Room Challenge and we are in the home stretch people! (catch up on weeks 1 - 4 here). It is a good thing too, because I don't think the rest of my house can take much more of this. Isn't it crazy how work in one room makes all the rooms around it into chaos?

This week I finished the vanity for the girls' room. My mom bought them this sweet little make-up table a while back and they looove to use it for their morning primp sessions. (Sorry but this bad blogger forgot to take a proper before picture so this is as close as it gets.)


It had already been painted when we got it but it was just a sugar coat and there were several nicks and dents that needed to be fixed. So I filled in the holes with wood filler, sanded it down and took it outside to spray paint. Luckily this step was done before the weather turned on me.


Sorry Richard Branson, but you were on top of the recycling pile. Love that BeeGee hair thing you got goin though.

Once it was painted white I got out my navy craft paint and the smallest brush I could steal from the girls' art supplies and decided to paint a little trim around the doors and drawer.

I cut a piece of paper to size, measured out the size and length of the border I wanted and then cut it out with my trusty x-acto knife. A little lesson learned - don't cut out the entire border or you will essentially just cut a big square out of the paper. Then you'll have to re-measure and re-cut your template. And you'll get frustrated and cuss under your breath like an old man and forget to take progress pictures of the whole thing.

Do yourself a favor and cut out everything except the corners, thus leaving your center in tact. You'll have to free-hand your corners when you paint, but it's better than free-handing the whole thing. If that makes sense.


The template worked fairly well. I did have to go back and touch up in some spots, and the lines aren't razor perfect, but then again, neither am I. And thanks Linda for convincing me to trim out the mirror as well. Smashing.


I picked up the gold hammered knobs, or the 'sparkly knobs' as they are known to the 5-year-old set, at Hobby Lobby for the ubiquitous 50% off.


And as a final touch I painted out the inside using the left over ceiling paint.


It would be bad if I decided to keep this for myself right? Luckily for the girls its a tad small for me, so it is all theirs.


In other news, this is happening.


I wanted to be able to show you the finished piece but it is STILL not dry and instead spread out all over my living room floor. But it is looking good and hardware is in route. Next week my friends.

Makes me happy to see a list with so many lines thru it.

1. Come up with functional floor plan
2. Paint walls/ceiling/trim
3. Paint dresser (new hardware too) Progress
4. Update vanity (maybe some fun color or hardware)
5. Find curtains and add trim
6. Add a rug and new bedding Progress
7. Hang art and create some personalized pieces Progress
8. Find/Install new light fixture (buh bye ceiling fan)
9. Reupholster chair and possibly add comfy floor cushions 
10. Find/Make lampshade(s) 

We are in week 2 of the ORC (check out week 1 here) and to be honest I feel like I'm spinning my wheels. Plenty of projects have been started, but nothing entirely finished.

The plan was to work on some of the bigger monsters and get them out of the way, leaving the fun stuff for the end. Enter the monster.


This chair was a freebie from my parents. Score. They bought it at an auction 25 years ago and it has sat in the basement ever since. It was sold with another chair, which was the one they were after, so this chair was a castoff from the beginning. Untouched for 25 years.

But my little time capsule chair was actually in excellent condition. The fabric was beyond nasty, but the frame, cushion etc. were in great shape. And I've tackled reupholstery projects before so I thought this one would be a piece of cake. I am nieve.

I got her stripped with no problem but the sanding was a challenge with all of those curves and dips and grooves. Then I went against everything I was ever taught as a child. I painted antique furniture. I probably won't be allowed over for Thanksgiving this year. But (cover your ears Mom and Dad) I'm glad I did it.

She looks so much better.


Killer finish. You always come thru for me RustOleum.


Now if I was Restoration Hardware, I'd call this chair complete. $1800 please, thank you.

But I have other plans. I've always loved the fabric on this bed (thank you Jamie Drake) and was able to find a Sunbrella version that is almost a perfect match.

Jamie Drake via Pinterest

Outdoor fabric on an indoor chair might sound a bit loony, but remember this chair is going in a room with two very busy girls. This fabric will need all the armor it can get.

Now I'd love to show you how beautiful the chair looks but she is not ready for her closeup. She's covered in some spots, naked in others. Staples showing and even a few scratches. Think My Fair Lady, before Audrey gets her makeover.

So back to work I go. It's a marathon, not a sprint...right? Let's see how the other ladies are doing.

Simple Details 

bad basement lighting