Guest blogger...Carolyn

A special thanks to a follower/friend for today's blog post. When Carolyn shared with me her great re-purpose project, I just had to share it! I just love seeing what wonderful creativity people have when it comes to re-purposing furniture! Here is what she said:


Tammy,

I thought you might like to see what we did with an old hutch we had.  We made a hanging bookshelf for our foyer.  I needed something for the space, it couldn't be deeper than 12 inches and I couldn't find anything in the furniture stores that I liked.  The picture of the hutch is a similar version of what we used. 

Old Dresser Gets a Fresh Look

This dresser goes with a funiture set my parents bought me when I was a child. I put it to good use for about 25 years before my dad made me a new set. As you can probably tell from the picture, it stayed in wonderful condition over the years - which is why I have kept it so long. It even went through a quick makeover when I was in my early teens -- my parents gave it a fresh coat of paint and new hardware.

When I bought my first home and moved out of my parents' house I left it behind because I didn't have room for it. About a year and a half ago, I moved into my new home and my parents were happy that I'd finally have room for it at my place. Because of the history, and since there is really nothing wrong with it, I wanted to put it to good use - but not before giving it a makeover!

First, I removed the hardware, sanded, primed and painted it the color of oil-rubbed bronze. 

Next, I sanded the dresser. I wanted the edges to look worn from years of use, so I really focused on removing the paint on most of the edges. At this point, I realized how light in color the pine wood was and wanted to give the edges a treatment that would make them pop. So, I rubbed stain on the edges - now they have an antique look and really stand out.

Last, I decided to add an interesting detail to the drawer fronts. I found fabric at a craft store that coordinated with my spare bedroom decor, cut it to fit the drawer fronts, and used Mod Podge to glue the fabric to the furniture. To do this, I painted the Mod Podge on the drawer fronts and placed the fabric over it. After it dried completely, I put another coat over the top of the fabric to give it a little shine and to ensure it would stay in place. (Tip: if you use this technique and want a shiny look, proceed with another 4-5 coats of Mod Podge). For this project, I liked the texture after only one coat.

Next, I replaced the hardware and the job was complete!