Thursday, April 14, 2011

A Wardrobe for Baby

This is the last of the BIG unfinished projects that’s been sitting in my workshop waiting for attention since I got pregnant and SICK in December.  It feels really good to have it tackled and finished!  I really wanted to get all the backlogged projects done before the Arizona weather gets hot, and my belly gets too big for me to do much of this kind of work.  :)

This sucker was actually given to me FREE by my furniture hookup guy.  I’ve told people about him before, but not sure if I’ve mentioned him here.  I know someone in town who buys people’s old storage units that they’ve defaulted on from the storage unit owners at auction.  Then he sells off the contents on CL and makes pretty decent money doing so.  I always thought the prospect of buying these units at auction was interesting for me as a furniture refabber, but risky, since you most likely end up with a bunch of crap that you don’t need or want.  Well, since I know this guy who does it, I don’t have to take any risk, but I get to reap the rewards of cheap, and sometimes quite awesome (and did I mention cheap?) furniture.  Since he knows that I redo furniture, he gives me first dibs on any furniture in his purchased units!  It’s a really great and completely serendipitous business relationship!

Anyways, here it was before I began work on it.

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It had so much going for it, but really needed a LOT of work (which is why it ended up the LAST unfinished project in the workshop, and how it came my way free.)  There was a lot of gluing of peeling veneer, or removing of it all together, lots of filling, lots of sanding.  The prep work on this piece was a job in itself, for sure!  I added the paintable wallpaper that looks like tin ceiling tiles to the side panels and the bottom panel on the front to cover over where I had to remove the peeling veneer.  I thought the closet panel was a big blank slate that needed some interest, so I decided to use a really great product that I’ve utilized before: Deco Art Texture Stucco.

TX07-TextureStucco

This stuff is fantastic!  I used it to add some interest to some flat and boring doors on this armoire as well.  I taped a damask stencil that I got at Michaels to the door.

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Then, using a putty knife, applied the texture medium to the stencil.

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Then, removed the stencil, leaving a lovely, raised design!

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You can knock down some of the sharper edges on the stucco after it’s completely dried with a fine sandpaper.  Then it’s ready to paint over.  It leaves such a nice, subtle design element to your pieces, and is a much, MUCH cheaper alternative to those pricey wooden appliques that give you a similar effect.

So, here’s the piece after all my hard prep work, ready for some paint!

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It was about at this point I started saying to myself, “Self?  You have a new person that’s going to be added to this family in a few months.  A new person brings with it a lot of stuff!  You’re going to need more storage to keep all that new stuff, and guess what?  You don’t have any right now!!”  To which I replied back to myself, “Hey!  This wardrobe would be a lot of new storage!”  So, it was practically a no-brainer that I really need to keep this piece.  It doesn’t hurt that I love it and would have cried to let it go.  ;)

So, my daughter’s room is a buttery yellow and sage green (thankfully I decided not to go too girly with her room in the first place), and her new baby brother will (eventually) be in there with her.  It’s a small house, and frankly the only option for him.  :)  So I decided to paint the piece the sage green, since it was the most masculine option.  :D

I added some tea stained glaze to the ceiling tile panels and to the stucco damask design to bring out those details and did some subtle distressing around the edges.  I love how it turned out!!

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I also added some pretty wallpaper as liner in the bottom of all the compartments.  (P.S. – I picked up 18 yards of this wallpaper at the Fraser Fields Swap last fall, so you might just be seeing more of this in projects to come.)

I’m sure it won’t take long to fill up all those nooks and crannies with baby goodies!  It never does.  :)

Hope you all have a beautiful, springy weekend!

Linking to:

Primitive and Proper, The Shabby Chic Cottage, Domestically Speaking, Miss Mustard Seed, Chic on a Shoestring, My Repurposed Life, The Shabby Nest, Finding Fabulous, Sassy Sites

DIY Club

36 comments:

  1. gorgeous redo. I bet that was a lot of work with the missing veneer. You did a great job and it will be something that can grown up with him.

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  2. so pretty! perfect for a baby's room... :)

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  3. SO beautiful! This is going into my inspiration folder STAT! :)

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  4. Omw, stunning!! Just. Wow. Drool!

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  5. Oh I can't wait to try this stuff out! How beautiful!

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  6. Can you change your blog name to something like 100X more lovely? Twice lovely just doesn't do it justice! Love this wardrobe makeover!

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  7. This is absolutely amazing!!!! You out did yourself here. This is a keeper for sure. Absolutely stunning!

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  8. This is stunning....what a fabulous transformation!

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  9. GORGEOUS!!! I know that took a lot of work - you are amazing. Definitely belongs with you!

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  10. Magnificent work- I adore the stucco detailing-the tone on tone is truly elegant!

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  11. Absolutely beautiful! Thanks for the great 'how to.' I am going to try out this technique. Just fab.

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  12. that looks beautiful! one lucky baby is in that belly. :)

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  13. I have been waiting, and waiting, and waiting, and waiting (seriously!!!) for you to get to this piece!!! I spotted the missing veneer on the wardrobe and have been dying to know how you were going to tackle. I went ahead and finished my missing veneer project without any of your awesome insight... and it worked out great. BUT I'm stilll super excited to see how this turned out, which is AWESOME!! As usual, great job!! I love it!!

    PS you can check out my missing veneer outcome here! ;)

    http://megschmitt-neveradullday.blogspot.com/2011/04/argyle-changing-table-for-baby-gabe.html

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  14. Thanks for your kind comments! You try out argyle (I'd love to see your take on it) and I'm totally going eggplant! I've been searching for the right shade lately.... all the sherwin williams shades I've used over the years i'm not really into now. BTW your plum is super! I say paint it on something!

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  15. This is so lovely! And yet so freaky! Just this morning I was in my carport looking at an old cupboard that I picked up cheap, which is almost identical to yours! I had no idea what to do with it and then the idea popped into my head of turning into a girls' storage cupboard whereby they could hang their dressups on the left and put shoes, accessories in the top cupboard and the drawers.
    I LOVE what you did with the textured stencil! Absolutely stunning :)

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  16. wow. this is amazing! I love it. the detail, really great. love the blog.

    new follower,
    kathryn
    www.thedragonsfairytail.blogspot.com

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  17. This transformation is amazing!! Great job! I love it!

    Also a new follower!
    xoxo from Germany,
    Vanessa @ {nifty thrifty things}

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  18. You've done an amazing job, it looks wonderful!

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  19. I really love what you did here. I especially appreciate the tip on the stucco stuff. Awesome. This piece is amazing.

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  20. How did you attach the vintage tin? It looks so neat.

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  21. Just Fabulous..new follower...love love your talent...blessings, julie
    lifeatfirelakecamp.com

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  22. Your furniture hook-up guy? hmmmm....
    Beautiful, my friend. Just beautiful.

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  23. As I said on FB this is absolutely FABULOUS! I have yet to try the plaster stenciling but I plan to! And you just must link this to my VIP party today... http://designergarden.blogspot.com/2011/04/vip-party-11.html

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  24. This is awesome. And you're right, those appliques are expensive. I was planning on using beadboard wall paper to cover up peeling veneer on a dresser so I'm glad I ran across this post! Did you just apply it the same way you would to walls?

    Thanks for sharing :)

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  25. Ann Marie,
    I was so caught up with your kidney desk redo, that I forgot to tell you how much I love the wardrobe. Thanks for visiting me and leaving such a nice compliment.

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  26. Wow....just...wow!!! I am just getting started doing some furniture painting on the side, and you are giving me some great inspiration. I am always amazed at the power of paint! I've been wanting to try that textured stencil technique...but I've been too chicken...not sure why!

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  27. Ann Marie, this is amazing! I have to admit I didn't see much in it's future from the first picture of how it used to look. You turned it into something amazing! Thanks for the inspiration and great tips :)

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  28. Beautiful job! Great tute! It really is an amazing transformation.
    "catching" you this week!
    gail

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  29. Wow Wow Wow Wow Wow!!!!!!!!!!!! Stunning! Just came upon your blog....anxious to see all you do. I'm in Phoenix, it's always fun to run into new bloggers!
    Margo at http://piecesoflifeetal.blogspot.com

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  30. BEAUTIFUL! What agreat hook up you have going with the "storage unit guy".....SWEEEET! LUCKY GIRL!!

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  31. OMG!!! I absolutely LOVE that stucco'd stencil! I've never used it before but you can bet I'll find something to use it on this summer! Great project! Beautifully done! I need to find myself a 'storage hookup guy'! lol

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  32. Very perfect renovation. I love the great result. The materials you have used was perfect and just fit right to the furniture. Congrats for the cool and perfect result.

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  33. This is very lovely. I am really no good in doing such repairs and I do envy you for having great skills in renovating this furniture.

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  34. WOW!!! This is fantastic!! I have so many projects I'd like to try these tips on!! Thanks for sharing. I've been looking around and I LOVE your blog!! I'm a new follower. :)

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  35. What a great project! I love the use of stucco and stencil on the door, very creative. The finished project is lovely!

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