Tuesday, August 17, 2010

DIY Redo for Bargain brag

Some of you may know I have found a new passion in revamping old stuff. Thrift store, garage sale, and flea market finds are quickly becoming my favorite things.

Thanks to Kate at Centsational Girl I have learned so many techniques on how to change furniture from drab to fab.

This is my first attempt at furniture change, let me know what you all think!!!

I started with a lovely little yellow vanity, which I picked up at a really random yard sale for $10 (yeah I know). It's made out of just about every type of wood you can imagine (more than likely a DIY project itself). It also came with a wicker mirror (eww wicker).
On Kate's blog she has an entry debating which stripper was better. Citristrip, or Klean-Strip. Her winner was Cirtristrip. I had spent the weekend before working with the Klean Strip and it is a harsh product. We wore gloves and goggle and still managed to burn ourselves. The chemical smell is so harsh and it burns sooooo bad.

Citristrip however has a rather pleasant smell. It is meant to be less toxic and can even be used indoors (though if you need as much as I did I wouldn't recommend that). It's easier to apply, and it appears to work much more evenly and efficiently. It does take longer to reach it's final strength but it's worth the extra wait.
This is what the paint looked like after 1 hour with the citristrip
It took two applications of citristrip and about 4 hours of manual labor to get all the paint off but we finally did it (no pictures of that step.. sorry). Then, after debating colors (originally had a bright green) we decided to go with the antique white, which gave it a clean and simple look. two coats of paint and two coats of poly later and here is the result!!
But what about the mirror Miranda? Well I totally dislike wicker but I had recently inherited a wicker chair to give to my son which I spray painted in a deep red. I immediately thought the mirror would be a great accent in his new baseball (sports) room so I gave that a few coats of spray paint as well and whalah, an awesome new set for my baby!I can honestly say I was petrified to get this project underway, what if it looked awful or it couldn't be saved. But I think for my first time and all it came out splendidly!

also check out Kate's site, for so many inspiring DIY projects Centsational Girl

Also Check out Wallet Friendly Wednesday

1 comment:

  1. Very unusual dresser. Love it. You did a great job. Thanks for sharing.

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