The following is a rambling post filled with no useful information, it’s basically me thinking out loud, or in type. My apologies.
Remember how the other day I was all “Books on the ground, gotta get me a shelf”, dog? Well, that very next morning I was one of the first people through the door of our local thrift store. After reading a comment from one of you locals who told me about a shelf I had actually had my eye on, I decided to get it. And when I decide something I want it done yesterday. As you can see I didn’t get the shelf. Who needs a shelf when you can get a sturdy chest of drawers for $80?
Wouldn’t some labely drawer pulls like these be nice? But I don’t want to spend $10 each. I want them to be like $1 each or in my dream world, pay me to buy them. Any ideas?
So, being the impatient, thrifty person that I am I immediately pulled out my trusty paint plus primer left over from the armiore. I mean, a different color would be nice but that would take time and patience, of which I have very little. So I hurridly coated the dresser with paint and it looks…ok.
I just realized that I don’t have a photo of the entire dresser–I put some spare knobs on it just to see but here’s a tiny bit of the dresser way down there at the bottom of the photo, can you see it? Again, the paint is fine but I can’t help the fact that I’m still infatuated with all things white. And what’s with me putting that bright blue frame everywhere in my house?
And then I saw this cabinet…
…and this sweet little number both masterfully painted/distressed by Holly from Life in the Fun Lane whom I’m pretty sure will be the official furniture painter in heaven. Y’all she’s got her own business painting her finds–this girl is killing me, I want to BE her!
Anyhow, I now am officially ready to paint my dresser white. It may not be in the next week, but I’m on the prowl. I’m ready for white. And no worries, I’m not painting everything, but I do love my other white dresser and I think I’d love this one if it were white too.
I’m kind of regretting my hasty decision of using what I had. There’s a delicate balance between using what you have and settling for something because you are impatient. I’m keeping my eye {eyes if you have two} open for some $5 oops paint. Gosh, for all I know I’ve got white paint in my garage.
Have you ever made a hasty design decision and then regretted it?
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I agree. White to mix things up a bit. I am itching to paint something white too. Like my armoire. but I am scared.
Maybe you’ll talk me into it this weekend. See you soon!
Unfortunately, I do it all the time! I am not patient either :) Judi
Paint it white, then rub the edges off so the blue shows through a bit. :-)
yes, YES, a thousand times yes!
maybe you could find some cheap pulls on ebay?
great find btw
Oooh yes!! I have a photo of my hastiness up on my blog right now. I really wanted to get a coffee table done and used spray paint for the top. Unfortunately, the temperature wasn’t right for spray painting (and I could have just as easily used roll-on paint) and the finish was splotchy and awful! It’s been fixed now, but hopefully it taught me a lesson! :)
Yes, just yesterday….I paid more than I ordinarily would for a lampshade at the bullseye, because I couldn’t wait for the inevitable sale. Then in spite of having that little feeling that it was a hair on the short side, I went ahead and took the plastic off, and added fringe thinking it would be aok….it’s not. Now it’s a too expensive, too short lampshade with fringe I don’t feel lurve for. I guess the bright side (ha) is that it lights up the area I need lit. Grrrr.
Look on the bright side…no pun intended. A bit down the road when you get the urge to facelift another cozy spot…maybe the bedside or reading nook…
Cha–ching!! A free find in your very own home. Some things find value a little late(r)
I do stuff like that all the time. It tends to either turn out great or horrible, but for me if I don’t do it RIGHT NOW it either a) drives me nuts or b) never gets done.
Anyway, I love the dresser painted blue, but while you’ve been fighting to add more white I’ve been fighting to add more blue!
I’m not sure how your boys are, but if its something that they will be touching all of the time…blue might be your better choice ;) at our house white is just asking for chocolate fingers or sharpie marker to accidentally swipe it!
I paint all my finds white and then distress the heck out of them. Oh and those pulls that you love can be purchased at Ikea (kind of…they are a tad more modern but the same idea) and I bought some a while back for my hutch. They are great and stainless steel (which you could spray paint an oil rubbed bronze to match what your going for.
Oh I can’t wait to see how this turns out! I want to be the cute lady that restores old furniture too, I’m always amazed by her work. I have never regretted much, even our VERY RED entry way. Good luck!
Your blog and writing style absolutely make me chuckle. I love reading it and especially love the “it doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful.” I just gave a dresser a makeover by adding stain right on top of what was there. Who needs to prep? Not me.
What a great find – no matter what color she turns out to be.
Enjoy this blue phase while it lasts.
what a fabulous find!! I think it will look gorgeous in white – did you see what Kate at Centsational Girl posted today? you may be very inspired….
How about you put a white coat over the blue, then distress it on the edges and corners to let just a little blue show through? Then it is white, distressed, and has ever so little color!
the running joke in our house is “paint it white.” i paint everything white. the great thing is…you can just paint over it! i think i’m going to repaint my black bookshelves white again. my regrets have been selling furniture.
These pulls are similar & a bit less expensive. They have several different colors, but if you bought them unlacquered, you can spray them whatever shade you like.
http://www.vandykes.com/product/205245/label-holder-with-drawer-pull2
I have learned after many rush jobs, not to do anything without thinking it through. It didn’t take too long for me to come up with this philosophy after wasting good money on a few projects that I thought I was saving money on by doing it myself. I now wait and re-think before I start on any project. I ask myself, is this just a phase, will I like it in a month, etc… When I am condfident, then I go for it. Right now I have a project sitting on my studioffice floor that I just haven’t decided on yet. I just have to let my brain come up with the right inspiration. It may take some time, but I know it will turn out much better, because I didn’t rush – just to get it done.
My best-
Diane
Oh yes — white!! :) Those ones you found are gorgeous! And girl you are readin my mind. I actually went to the hardware aisle at Wally world just hoping they would have SOMETHING I could turn into a “labely” type thing. #1 skip the trip — waste of time #2 what in the world do you ACTUALLY call those label things????
My mom has been painting furniture like that since before they invented dirt. I spent my childhood prowling junk yards and yard sales. We also share paint back and forth (“you know that black paint you used on that bench? Got any left?…”). I love her motto — “What can it hurt?”, which is true, right?
Wow! You found that baby for $80? Awesome. I love that -paint-it-white-but-show-some-blue-on-the-edges idea!!
I love both those of those white pieces! Be careful of those Ooops paints-I think they’re addictive. I like the $5 gallons, the $2 quartsnad the 50 cents sample pints. You should see my collection!
I bought blue couches. Navy blue, very overstuffed couches. Now, granted this was when I lived in apartments for years and couldn’t paint the walls, so the big color splash came from them. When I moved into our first house and could paint the walls, the blue couches went to the Goodwill. The only thing I kept was the ottoman, which I have since recovered.
I’m the same way. When I want something done, I want it done yesterday.
I like the color of the dresser now, such a pretty color.
Yes, oh my goodness, yes! Hasty? Yes. My entire house, except for my lovely sofa that cost more than a year’s tuition to our local 2 year college! Oh and my bed. Don’t even get me started on my bed!
I was so in love and completely enamored with being married and pregnant all in the same year that I said YES to everything and had no brain when it came to function or design of my husband’s bachelor pad (that sounds like he was using his house for unmentionable things. Hardly!). So we went out and picked everything and anything. Stupid. Now 11 years later I have to re-think everything. I hate re-thinking.
However, I’m starting to roll again into the whole white thing after your post the other day when I told you I did it once already and then *puked*.
Help me. What keeps happening here?
That dresser is fabulous! $80? Really? That’s a steal! And the comment by Kristi @ Pink and Polka Dot! Hilarious! This is because the running joke at my house is “paint it black”. My husband is SICK of hearing it. LOL. By the way, LOVE your site! I added you to my blog and am ” following” you!
i just got cute knobs in the $1 section of michael’s! looks great blue and would be great white!
That’s a great piece! I don’t blame you for getting it. I’m going thrifting for two Queen headboards this weekend. I hope I get as lucky. Yes, I have on occasion been too impatient and then I’m not totally happy with what I’ve done. Luckily, in a case like this, it’s just paint and not a permanent thing.
I started painting a dresser white today. Well, technically, off-white. But whatever. My boys keep asking me, “Why are you painting EVERYTHING white?”
“Watch it. You’re next,” I tell them.
Where did you find an unfinished dresser for $80????
Yes I want to know the name of the thrift store too!!!!!……………………………………………waiting patiently! …………well maybe not…..
lol
I am building a house right now and would love a piece like that ! GREAT FIND! I would have bought it too!!! :)
AmyD
I am the QUEEN of hasty decisions when it comes to decorating!! I want everything to be done now! Yep, that has lead to lots of repainting in my homes, let me tell ya! But one decision I have not regretted ~ painting my kitchen “Crocodile Tears” (Olympic paint at Lowes). Love, love, LOVE the color every time I walk in here. One decision had to end up right!
We are remodeling our boys’ bedroom and are doing a faux board and batten look. I was getting impatient because it was taking forever so I said lets just paint the entire wall the same color (dark blue) so it wasn’t half white and half blue without trim.
We got the trim up rather quickly and now we have to paint multiple coats (we are on #4) on the bottom half of the wall to cover up the dark blue which is really supposed to be white.
I just should have lived with it being half and half until we got our trim up.
i just painted a buffet blue , I love it , white is nice too , but I wanted a stand out not a blend in piece.
You’re not giving yourself enough credit. Clearly that chest of drawers needed to be PRIMED before it could be painted its final color. You were just using the PRIMER you had on hand, and you will paint this chest white as soon as you have time. Meanwhile, you couldn’t leave the poor thing out in the garage to freeze, could you? Of course not. It needed to be inside. It will hang out inside and the primer will have a chance to cure thoroughly while you are out of town.
You are not impatient. You are simply methodical. Thrifty and methodical. And organized. Don’t forget organized.
All in all, you are my hero. :)
I was wondering when you were going to bring Holly up and go towards the white furniture!!
oh, and besides… how AWESOME is that dresser going to look when you paint it white, and distress it enough for little hints of blue to peek through?
That is going to be amazing.
i know exactly what you mean. Oops! paint is my favorite color. But let’s face it– when is it really ever gonna be Oops! paint? Who makes a mistake with white?
My daughter called me and told me about a local store that had Semi-gloss and flat White…50% off… the low low price of $5. a can. She said, “Mom you want me to pick you up a couple of gallons?”
My thoughts: “Now, come on! You have to ask me?”
I can’t wait to use my new white paint!
Yes. I bought fabric for the girls’ bedding and I bought it b/c I HAD to have it THEN and this is what was at the store.
I made skirts out of it so no loss.
Please don’t jump on the *white* bandwagon.
There are plenty of boring, white houses and apartments out there. It takes way more talent to use lots of color and make it look fabulous. I love your style and use of color.
I just feel like this white trend is nothing more than a fad. Who really wants a white room, long term?
So many times, but it’s normally when I go against my initial instinct. I see great things for that dresser!
That’s just like my dressers! :) I have the armiore and matching bed, too. :) I can’t wait to see what you do with it. I’ve thought about painting mine, but I just don’t know what to do with it. I’ve had it since I was like twelve though, so it has definatly been well loved.
Yes, absolutely. I am really cheap and I like that about myself but as time goes on I think I am becomming wiser on how to do things on the cheap. I’m not going to settle for things I don’t like anymore. When in doubt paint it again. I have a beautiful Queen Anne antique dining set that my mother in law paid a fortune for and got tired of. I wanted to paint it for years. I finally did and didn’t love my first(use what I had)choice. I painted it again and let a little of the old (red)show through because it makes me happy that I was bold enough to dump red paint on a precious antique. It’s much more precious now.
On another note, I love white. I will be buried in my Shabby Chic ruffled duvet. It was my one tax time splurge and I love it.
I hope you have both eyes so you can find that white paint in the garage.
LURVE the drawers. Supah good find and it will be adorable white/ blue underneath! Great thinking. It was part of the master plan, right?
What about trying a combination of drawer pulls and bookplates? Bookplates are the labeling part, commonly found in scrapbook supplies. They attach with brads, but you could easily replace the brad with a matching screw, or glue the brad in place and glue the entire piece to the drawer front. Hope this helps!
Good idea–I actually found some of those last night in my craft room and wondered the same thing!! Thank you!
Yes, I have. It’s called my kitchen, living room, and dining room. When we bought our house (our first), I was soooo desperate to have some furniture and paint on the walls that I just “decided” on stuff without even really taking any time to see what my tastes are. As a result the look is, um, not the greatest. My tastes have evolved so much over the past few years, but my budget has not. Now I stay home with two kids. ;)
I think it will look fab in white, with a bit of blue showing through like the other commenter mentioned. :)
Yes, in fact I do this quite often which ends up making me not want to do anything for fear of messing it up. AAAck, did I just say that? IDHTBPTBB
I tried painting a Wendy Bellismio nursery lamp from my baby boys room when he outgrew it–I thought painting it chocolate brown would be cute in my baby girls pink nursery. No. It looked like a poisonous frog and I threw it in the charity bin. Because I’m too lazy to fix mistakes. How embarrassing.
Ok, since I know you are leaving tomorrow, I had to laugh! You know what I started last night, even though I’ve got to do some orders, finish some editing AND pack? I started painting my living room.
Too bad you can’t take paint back with you…. the Restore here has them for 25 cents a quart!
I’m the opposite. I’m not a rush into it kind of person. I’d rather wait than settle.
tina
OH and have you looked at Hobby Lobby? I got my kitchen handles there for less than $2 each, when they were half off. They didn’t have the card thing on top, but they were very similiar!
I’m way too impatient. Can’t eat, sleep, or pee while I have something in mind to do …so about the white paint, great idea! You’d think there’d be plenty of oops paint, since there are way more shades of white than people know. Plus, it wouldn’t be as redundant when you reuse your paint here and there.
Idea for the knobs: do you have a Habitat store near you? They might be found cheap there.
Yes – I painted a floral design on a black trash to treasure dresser my husband found. I painted the design turquoise to complement the Caribbean Sunset color of our family room walls. But I keep thinking to myself I should have painted the design red, since red keeps popping up in other items I’ve placed in the room. But now I’m thinking I should have gone with a robin’s egg blue. That would work with the room’s wall color and the red accessories. Hmmm…
There are a lot of people painting things white these days. I have white dining room furniture that I am dying to paint espresso brown. I’m always doing the opposite of what everyone else is doing, it seems.
Uhm, yeah…see my latest post on my “gallery wall” that I just put up and hate. I think I’ll be taking it down this weekend and starting over. But you’ve inspired me to paint a black piece of furniture that I have a color!!! I love Holly’s blog…she does have an amazing vision:)
I have this dresser in my guest room! I mean, this exact one! It has a huge mirror that goes over it with a great swirly flor-de-lis thing on it. I should send you a picture so you can show what it looks like with all the drawers! ha :)
hope you are well.
OMG i love the new chest of drawers!! beautiful! and OMG that’s the paint color i’m longing for to paint my furniture pieces for our new playroom addition that is ALMOST DONE! what color is that, if i might ask? :)
love the white too :) beautiful
Eighty bucks? A steal!
I learned the hard way never to make decorating decisions 2 weeks after you had a baby :) I made the mistake of buying several pieces from a consignment store to “fix up” right about my son was born and I regret it! I did fix them up, and liked what I had done for a short while, but you know how those hormones after pregnancy go, I can’t stand them now :) Not only do I dislike the furniture, but after many attempts to try and sell it, I just can’t get rid of it!
Hello..I think this might be my first comment on your blog. I have been following you on and off for awhile and just added you to my blogroll so I can remember to check in regularly. I love your toile sofa, where did you get it? yes..I too have painted in haste. My sideboard we originally painted it a yellow, I was inspired after seeing one on the cover of MS Living but knew right when it was done..to paint it my creamy white….
Hahahaha! Oh yes I have! I painted my neutral kitchen pumpkin orange! Loved it when it went up by day 3 I hated it! hahaha oh well lesson learned. Pics of my “halloween” kitchen are on my blog.
I just have to say, all of you craft chicks, DIY queens, make me want to bust the doors wide open at the Salvation Army and Good Will. Not to mention, hibernate at Lowe’s on the paint isle. I have been so inspired by all you creative gals that I hope to start my own projects this summer when I get out of school…or before, who knows. I feel like I have been resus…gosh how do you spell that word…resuscitated…there we go, from the dead and now I can breath again….I going to keep reading all ya’lls blogs just to see what you come up with… gosh, who knows what ya’ll will be paint’n next. Lotsa love, SusieQ
Have you checked out the pulls at Hobby Lobby? Do you have one where you are? I have bought several sets for different pieces, when they have their half-price sale of course! I have also bought pulls off of ebay, not as “crafty” looking but cheap. Great find!
Oh Yes! I found an antique piano (over 100 years old) at a church thrift store for free! It was in terrible shape but I felt the wood was beautiful and could be repurposed. All we had to do was take it apart to get it home. My husband kept bugging me about it taking up room in the garage so I let him get rid of a few of the wood pieces- but not all of them. I regret getting rid of even a few pieces of that lovely, old wood. I need to find a cheap shed to call my own to store all my cool finds, until I know what Im going to do with them. Regret is a terrible feeling!
My comment is more so a deisgner question sparked by a picture in this blog. I LOVE the style of the white drawers (linked for Life in the fun lane) and want to know what “style” are they. I would love to have a taller version that has a dresser feel for my bedroom as well as a longer one (like the one picturd) for my living room. I don’t know how to search for drawers that are curvy with legs because I don’t know what to call them! Can you help?
O’ I just love white furniture. It looks so clean and goes with everything. Great find!
Man, I’ve learned so much from reading all the comments. Seriously, I never knew about “Spray Painting Weather”. Last week when I painted my gold lamps white they turned out splotchy. Now I know why.
My regret is putting wipe on poly on a painted piece. I called Minwax and Martha, the grouchy customer svc rep, said their products are not for use on painted surfaces. Couldn’t argue w/ Martha since I hadn’t read the can but once I read the can it doesn’t say not to use on paint….
How do you protect the surfaces of your painted pieces?
Amy
sorry for rambling
Thank you for your best of the nest. I have been able to aply some your ideas like a cute little lamp on the dinner table and a throw pillow on each chair. I too live in a rental so my creativity feels sometimes restricted but that seems just like a challenge to try harder.
I make hasty decissions all the time. But when I paint I always remember a little bird once saying Who cares if you make a mistake just repaint it” This is what i told my husband just this past fall when I wanted to paint a blanket chest black with a red inlay and he had said to me “are you sure what if it comes out badly”. I said oh well if it does not look good or if I don’t like it I will just repaint it!!!!!!
are you kidding… that’s how I’ve made most of my design decisions. And yet somehow it all usually works out. (except for the bathroom… with three different paint samples on the walls… over about a 2 month time period… no haste there!) I’ll get moved to choose one some day : )
have you checked out D. Lawless Hardware on the web for drawer pulls? they have great prices. kelly
oh my gosh! we had that same dresser and whole bedroom suite when we were first married. dang it….i should have kept that dresser! i never saw the potential :(
I always make hasty decisions and then regret them…especially with decorating. I think it’s better to wait and get what you want or make it what you want. I think your dresser will look fabulous in white.
-FringeGirl
I LOVE your decorating style!!
Oh I am the most impatient slacker decorator ever. I am bad about not taking the time to properly prepare surfaces before I paint them. Most of the time it works out okay but it has definitely backfired at times. Especially with chalkboard paint! If it’s a surface you’re writing on, it should probably be smooth. Didn’t think that one through. I also have a white paint obsession. Painting my kitchen chairs and a desk this weekend as a matter of fact, hoping the paint fumes will dull my sorrow about not getting to hang with you girls at Blissdom. : ) Have fun!
Okay, here’s a cheaper option for pulls at about $3-4 a pop. Although this seems smaller. And it’s the wrong color, but there’s always spray paint?
http://www.dlawlesshardware.com/ancocuppuinc.html
Unfortunately, I don’t make enough hasty decisions. I would like to be a bit more daring, but I don’t know what to do most of the time. If anybody out there has any suggestions for me, visit my site because I could use some help making hasty decisions.
I kinda like the blue . . .
Oh, while you’re here in Nashville (and if you like burritos the size of your head) go to Baja Burrito on Thompson Lane. You will not regret it. (They are not open on Sunday, though, fyi) Best salsa EVER and the food is amazing.
I LOVE the old shabby pieces that Holly redeems. She has definitely made me look at ugly wooden furniture in a totally new way. Now if only I can get the nerve to actually try it.
I was thinking what somebody else said. When you get tired of the blue, you can just do white over it and distress it a bit so the blue shows through.
To your paint color issue, I think in short order, you’ll be pronouncing that “under coat” of blue as COMPLETELY intentional. :) Just go ahead and paint over him in white like planned, and give him a slip-shod sanding around the edges, like your fabulous paintanista has done on her pieces, so the blue shows through. It’s going to be a subtle, but fabulous tie to all of the blue accessories you having running around (even the omni-present frame, lol), without giving you white-out… and the kids can abuse it to their wee little hearts’ content… Just tell people you paid extra for the distressing!
To your pull issue – Hobby Lobby is my favorite place EVAR for fun pulls. If you don’t have one near you, get a map and start drivin’.
Can’t wait to see him all gussied up!
Nester, I totally second (or third, or fourth) Ebay as a source for pulls. Do a search for Bing cashback on Ebay purchases – I think it’s 8% or so. You might check Amazon as well. As far as paint goes, have you ever checked Craigslist? There’s free paint listed on my local Craigslist right now.
And have you seen the spring Pottery Barn catalog? You might have to sue for nesting infringment! Seriously, there’s a sign in that catalog that looks as if it came right off your blog.
Susan in San Antonio
Oh, Nester! White would be lovely. And a nice distressed look like the pictures you showed would be so nice too. About making hasty decisions…well, I recently bought some duponi silk checked fabric. I paid way too much and settled for a smaller check when what I really, really wanted was a buffalo check. But impatient me just couldn’t wait to search out just what I was looking for so I settled! Now I am so not happy. Okay, that was an expensive mistake but good news – I found another use for the silk and ran across the buffalo check I wanted – now the question is where to get the money to buy it! Maybe I’ll sell something.?!.?!.?!
I DO have an idea on the pulls: ebay! My husband replaced all of our door hinges in this house in a dark hammered bronze (they were bright brass). Lowe’s had the hinges for about $5 each. An ebay store had brand new ones for much, much less.
Hi there! I just wanted to let you know that I have nominated you and your blog for the “Sunshine Award.” You can read more about it on my blog, Beth Stone Studio at this link:
http://bethstonestudio.blogspot.com/2010/02/little-award.html
I’m enjoying your posts! Have a great day!
All my painted furniture is white except for one grey table that did not sell yet in my booth (and I needed a table). I love the blue color! Leave it for a while and let it wear the color for a time. You may decide to change to white, but the blue would look so pretty with other white pieces. That’s my opinion. And believe me I paint a lot of furniture in a year’s time.
I quite like the blue but white (or white distressed over the blue) would be great too.