A little "POP" goes a long way
It started with a dresser ... part of a set that graced the room my sister and I shared growing up. It was a popular style then, replete with matching four-post beds and a little nightstand.
When we bought our first house and needed spare bedroom furniture, several of the pieces came to me. And when our folks down-sized, the large dresser arrived. It settled into the guest room, which was the place for all collected, slightly mis-matched furniture to hang out.
We recently decided to spruce things up a bit. Guests will now have a king bed with fresh bedding, just part of the new, bright, fun room with attached bath. And the dresser remained.
I really didn't want to part with it; it houses placemats, napkins, and even small tablecloths. It's functional. Just not modern -- or old -- enough. I've painted a piece or two in my time, and thanks to pinterest there's no shortage of ideas.
So I decided to tackle it; nothing to lose but $50 or so and my time.
I chose General Finishes milk paint. It's not a true milk paint, but has properties of one. And it's similar to chalk paint, for those who have used that. I followed the usual steps: take the hardware
off; lightly sand and thoroughly clean the piece, inside and out; and paint. I decided I wanted a distressed look so I choose a linen shade for my first two coats, topped of with two of "sunglow." Before the final coat set (per instructions), I lightly sanded to achieve the look I wanted.
The piece popped!
But the finishing touches were the champagne corks - slowly amassing in a bag in the laundry room - that I decided to used as pulls. Thanks Bob Villa! Now, this probably wouldn't work in a heavy-use space on a frequently used piece. But for my purposes it was perfect. A little pre-drill, then the corks screwed right on.
This is a project easily accessible to anyone who's willing to trying. And if you're not a champagne drinker you can always create other pulls,or purchase them. Although that was part of the fun!
I've got the bug again ... old furniture beware. It's not safe for you around here ...
