My very own before and after

The month of December saw an expansion in my blog appetite.  No longer was I content to quietly stalk the lives of friends and neighbors, I needed more.  So, I stumbled upon home improvement/decorating blogs and endless hours were spent pouring over picture after picture and just itching to get my hands on some "good bones" piece of furniture I could refinish.  Thank you so much BetterAfter, for the countless hours of visual pleasure.

Then, on an afternoon jog I passed a pile of furniture with a large "FREE" sign.  I had to cross the street and run by.  Wait, could that be, no really, COULD THAT BE!  There was a hideously painted and spotted blue dresser with a darling curve and little legs.  And don't you know, I desperately need another dresser!  So I finished my run (considerably faster than I had planned) and dashed home to recruit the hubby for a minivan salvage mission. I promised that I would finish this project speedily, that I wouldn't need anything else for Christmas, and that I would take over dinner duty for that night.  This combination seemed to do the trick and hubby acquiesced to my fervor.

We got it home and took it down to my "studio" in our unfinished basement.  Here's the before:

I thought I had spotted a piece with potential.  It was quite dinged up, and I ended up puttying an entire corner (which will be strategically camouflaged when I figure out what I want to reside on my new surface).
But two hours of power sanding through blue, white, then green paint, and I felt I was making progress.

I also decided to replace the hardware from old-fashion pulls, to shiny new knobs.  So I filled in the extra holes and sanded some more.  Then a thorough going over with a damp cloth to get rid of any dust and on to the next step.

I put on a couple coats of primer, then a couple coats of Behr Billowy Down.  and Voila, the after:

Isn't she a beauty?  Right now I haven't decided how to "dress" her, but she is acting as a buffet in my dining room. I really do need another dresser, but I decided on the buffet first.  I know we will be moving in the next 4-6 months, so I have no idea where this piece will find its final resting home.

I love the crisp white of this, but I may have to had some distressing or another color when I figure out where she finally belongs. For right now though, she'd fit right in any room of my house and add a little much-needed class.

Stayed tuned for other projects I'll be doing to try to use up the rest of that Billowy Down quart.