Nursery Decorating Chapter 2: When in Rome

And by "in Rome", I mean when you are living with an upstairs that is completely in pieces, and there are paint rollers and brushes everywhere - you might as well paint dressers!

First, a little history. The two dressers and mirror we're using in this room are part of a five-bedroom set I inherited from my great grandmother when I was ten (the other two pieces are a nightstand, which I currently use, and a twin sized brass headboard - which could be great little girl bedroom material someday shall we need it).

She had purchased them a few years before when she moved into a senior living apartment, and when she passed away she left them to me, which was a pretty mind-blowing thing for a ten-year-old! So, they have very precious history to me, but are not precious antiques - making them fair game for a fresh coat of paint and some new hardware!

Although, I do think Nino preferred them before . . . .

The dressers had great, embellished shapes, but the feathery hardware and gold painted highlights really dated them and made them feel heavy. Plus, the ivory painted finish on them had taken a bit of a beating over the years and was in need of a refresh anyway.

So they all got a light sanding, some wood putty and a fresh coat of paint. From there, the putty/sand/putty/sand process began to get the fronts of the drawers perfectly smooth over the old hardware holes. While I haven't selected new hardware yet, I am confident the old holes will not work (they had numerous different sizes and would be impossible to match). 

We use Sherwin Williams ProClassic Interior Oil-Based paint for all our woodwork - trim, cabinets and furniture - and used the color Creamy for these pieces. It's funny paint to use - very sticky, prone to drips and incredibly slow to dry - but once it's done the finish is incredibly smooth and durable, so it's worth the extra work.

Once the painting process was finished, here's what we ended up with.

I love how the embellishments on the furniture drawers and legs show up so much more now that they have a uniform finish. The ivory feels clean and fresh, and really helps the pieces feel nursery-appropriate.

So, hardware is the next step. I have been planning on using blue milk glass knobs for the drawers - something like this:

And while I love the look, I'm feeling like it's not quite what these dressers need. I ordered some samples to play with, both of the milk glass knobs and a simpler, crystal and bronze option like this:

The crystal is still whimsical, but a bit cleaner and less "baby-y" than the milk glass - so I'm anxious to get both options in and see what we like. Either way, these dressers have come a long way from the gold and beaten up yellow-cream they were a week ago.

And speaking of When in Rome, here's a little more to add some excitement to your Wednesday. Because every day is better with a little Will Ferrell.

Happy Bench

The weekend before Thanksgiving, Chris and I were driving home and saw this sad little bench on the curb. Upon inspection we saw that, while the wood slats were beyond shot, the size and shape of it was very charming, and the wrought iron of the bench was very nice and in great shape. So we brought it home and planted it in the garden. 

The wood appeared to be maple, but someone had painted it dark red a while ago. The red paint was peeling and the wood was rotting. I liked the idea of painting it - our garden is surrounded by beautiful cedar and if this bench was going to live there, it needed some color to get the attention it deserved.   

The first step, though, was replacing the wood slats - all of the ones on the seat were rotting, and one of the pieces of the back as well. So CJ and I headed to Habitat ReStore - a materials source that has been very good to us - and we found a 1"x6"x16' piece of pine that would work great. It was a nice clean piece of wood - no knots - and would be just right. It was truly 16' long though so we borrow their saw and broke it down in the parking lot so it would make the drive home. 

Once we were home my handy hubby cut them down to size

and installed them.

I tested the new and improved bench out, and it was nice and sturdy. 

At this point it was getting pretty late in the day, and it just so happened to be an absolutely beautiful day, so we decided to quite our work for the day and put that old rotting wood to work. 

 

We didn't burn quite all the old lumber though. Wrigley claimed this slat for himself and insisted on fetching it as we relaxed by our fire. 

 

 

So this morning, here's what our little bench looked like:

I looked through our stores of exterior paint and found we had about 3/4 of a quart of Glitzy Gold left from painting the back grate of our house. This cheery yellow seemed just the right thing for our new seat. 

So we painted.

And a few short hours later this little bench looked like new. The yellow brings out the green in the metal, and shows brightly in front of the trellis and fence.

The last painter got red paint onto some of the hardware, and for now we're leaving it. It could be fun - an homage to its former life. Or if it bothers us I will drop some matte black paint into the recessed holes to fake the screws' original color. 

There are also a few spots where dabs of paint bled through tape onto the metal. I have a feeling it will flake off pretty quickly, but if it does not a little steel wool will correctly it quickly.

In all, I'm thrilled with the upgrade. We probably won't sit on this guy a ton - maybe occasionally here and there when we're enjoying the garden. But it will be the perfect inviting spot when we want to. The rest of the time it will likely be a set down place for garden tools and vegetables while I'm working.

At a total cost of $4.80 (for the pine from Habitat ReStore), I'd say this was a great upgrade.