A Bedroom Corner Makeover. . .

Yes, it's true ~ I still have my wonderful Drexel Heritage bedroom furniture from when I was 12 years old!  Of course, I'm not divulging exactly how old I am now but I can tell you that I've held on to these sturdy pieces from my childhood for a VERY long time.  Actually when I think about my age, it's a bit depressing so let's move on shall we?

I've tossed around the idea of purchasing new (well, really really old vintage) pieces for the bedroom but I just haven't been able to let this furniture go.  On the one hand, it is really great quality ~ the kind you don't find anymore and on the other hand, it is from my childhood. Two win wins. So when my friend Karla Nathan offered last December to show me how to refinish it I was in!  We worked late into the evening repainting both of the end tables and this summer I moved on to the Armoire.  It's really the biggest piece in the 5 piece set and it's been looking at me for 7 months now saying "JUST PAINT ME"!

These first pictures are all on Instagram since my iPhone is my go to toy when I'm in the middle of being creative. I'm sort of in love with Instagram ~ it makes everything look cool. I decided to paint the armoire using the same process we did for the end tables ~ Glidden's primer mixed with Martha Stewart's Glass of Milk at Home Depot.  It's such a great way to paint because you eliminate any need for sanding and a base coat of primer.  It's all mixed in!  Unfortuantely, you can only mix in lighter tones which is something to keep in mind if your trying to avoid the primer step.  I also knew that I wanted to decopage the panels with vintage music paper so I didn't waste any time painting those.

I am really pleased with the end result. Such a huge difference and I still get to know inside that these have been in my family for a very long time.

Here were the steps broken down ~ 1. clean your piece of furniture well, 2. apply three coats of paint (I needed a lot to cover the walnut stain) allowing to dry between coats, 3. decopage the panels with music paper, 4. sand edges to give it a distressed feel, 5. apply tinted glaze with a paintbrush and rub in with a damp towel, and 6. seal with a top coat. Karla (aka the Queen of Painting) has TONS of tutorials on her Blog if you're thinking of repainting your own pieces too. My biggest piece of advice would be NOT to wait too long before letting your coats of paint dry if you intend on sanding ~ it is really hard once this primer base is set to sand through it. It can be done but takes a lot of elbow grease.

I wanted to share a close up of a couple spots in my sweet little corner redo ~ one is this picture of my kids taken ages ago. I honestly am not a big fan of staged pictures but at some point all us parents give in to the pressure of dressing our kids up in clothing they will never wear again. My favorite part of this portrait though is the memories it holds ~ I'll never forget Kate running around the shop with this sweet garland in her hair refusing to sit for the picture. I'll never forget how patient Dylan was (completely abnormal for him at that age by the way) and how every time we got her just to almost sit he would immediately perk up for the camera (I'm sure I must have promised him the largest Lego set ever). I'll never forget how stressed it all made me and how ultimately pictures of them rolling around in the snow dirty as could be would be far more valuable to me in the long run.

And then these two sweeties ~ if you know me well, you know I love dollies so very much. The large china doll I found at a flea market and the wee one I made during a class with the fabulous Joanna Pierotti, who I believe may love dolls just a smidge more than me if that's possible. I must say it's so wonderful to have a new happy place. . .

 

 

Comments

[candice carpenter]

LOVE it!!!

[Erin Barraza]

Kim
It looks fabulous! I know you've been working a while on your room
Re-do and from what I can see it's all coming together:) love, love, love!
See you soon.
Hugs

[Terri Gordon]

Hi Kim, It's beautiful! I love your photo of your children, how sweet! I also love your beautiful dolls. Thanks for sharing.

Hugs,
Terri

[Terry Frias]

You created a wonderful space in your bedroom, I am so glad you kept the furniture and you did a wonderful job!!

[Charlene]

I LOVE what you did with your storage piece. WHAT A HUGE DIFFERENCE! I really love that you used the sheet music for the panels. It turned out GREAT! My friend Lisa always says... Just because it's wood doesn't mean it's good (when the question is to paint over a good piece of wood furniture or cabinets). But, I always hesitate to do that... YOURS turned out amazing. And I bet the room looks larger with it light instead of dark. HUGS!

[Sandy]

WOW just gorgeous! I LOVE your dolls too!

Sandy xox

[Pamela]

Breathtaking piece. I was wondering if you would allow me to pin a photo of it to my Pintrest board.

[kadee]

Hey,Kim...you've been busy!! Half the time I paint with Annie Sloan and the other half I use regular latex paint. However, I have yet to mix paint and primer together. And what did you use for the aging stain? I think that is even harder to figure out than the paint color! I loved how the armoire turned out and with the vintage luggage on top? Really nice touch! The memories of getting the kids to sit still long enough for a photo... I loved reading your experience. Like it was yesterday, right?

[Robyn Yednock-Haas]

WOW! You have totally inspired me!

[Riki Schumacher]

I love this Kim!! Great job. I need to just do it now! Riki

[Jill]

That looks fanastic! I've never had much confidence to try anything like this myself but you've inspired me to give it a go!