Buh-bye Shiny Wood Veneer!

I love a great deal. When I was browsing through my local Salvation Army several months ago, I found a dresser that was tagged for only $10. Actually, $9.99. It had certainly seen better days, but I was confident that I could rescue it with some paint.

It actually doesn't look half bad in the picture, but in real life the veneer was really shiny and totally clashed with the colors in our kitchen. All of the trim in the kitchen, dining room and living room is overly lacquered wood. I couldn't handle anymore shiny wood tones. 

By the way, I'm fully convinced that the only reason Bill picked it up at the store and helped me move it into the house was because it was my birthday. Love that man!

Priming and painting the dresser wasn't as bad as I expected. I sanded all of the surfaces first with the palm sander and then rolled on the primer with one of those 6 inch foam rollers. After letting the primer soak in for a day, I got to painting. Bill suggested I paint it a really, really, really pale gray. Initially I wanted to paint it white, but the floors in the kitchen are orangey-tan and off-white tiles so the white paint really would not match. So I picked up a half gallon of pale gray paint and got to work.

It ended up taking 3 coats of paint. I probably could have stopped at two coats, but I figured I was better safe than sorry. She's been living in our kitchen for about 6 months now and I can't imagine the space without her. Ha - I'm talking like the dresser is an animate object. Isn't she pretty though?

Try to use your imagination and picture crisp white trim and dark hardwood floors. That's the long-range plan for this room... once the money tree in the backyard starts producing some $100 bills!

The dresser provides us with a lot of useful storage in our kitchen. We keep all sorts of things in there, from nice paper napkins to waterless doggy shampoo. It also provides another surface in the kitchen. Its really useful during parties, like my sister's bridal shower. Plus, I get to decorate it... always a bonus :)

I change stuff out a lot, especially depending on the season. I think its nice and summery now. You can also see the "you & me" wire art living here. That piece is available in my etsy shop!

I'm starting to think about painting the top, either a different color or with a pattern/stencil. Any thoughts on that? I don't want it to be super busy, but I'd love to add a little more interest to it.

Ok, I want to hear about other thrift store finds. I was pretty amazed by this $10 find and snatched it up before someone else got the chance. What great finds have you found at the Salvation Army or Goodwill? Please share!

Thanks for reading,
Kathleen

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