Modern or Coastal ||Flip List Item No.2||

So I'm trolling craigslist [like I've been known to do] and I found a modern dresser in need of some TLC.  Now normally, I would pass right by a laminate dresser but this piece was... special.

It's hard to tell in this pic, but this "white monster" as I've affectionately nicknamed it, had a weird cream/white two tone thing going on.  But it was still a modern dresser with glossy-fronted drawers that slide like butter.  It the perfect candidate for Furniture Flip Bucket List item No.2: wrap a piece in a wood shim treatment.  

wood shims taper off to one end so that you can wedge them in to help level something.  I could have used flat wood and gotten more of a butcher-block look, but I wanted to use shims to recreate this uneven affect in my inspiration photo:

So I went about covering the bright-white yucky laminate portions of the dresser with the wood shims: the top, sides, and toe-kick.  I started out with the intention of creating a polished modern look like the photo above but as I worked on it, it began to steer me in a different direction.

I liked how raw and rustic the cedar shims looked untreated (and not to mention the cedar smelled AH-MAH-ZING).  So I just went with it and ended up with a piece that's both modern and coastal:

To play off the unfinished wood's beachy vibes, I styled it with some tropical leaves [that I may or may not have harvested from a decorative potted plant in a parking lot.  I kinda felt like Chelsea did when "smuggling" home some paint sticks for this DIY project].

I then added a couple seaside touches like this piece of coral.

To play up the dresser's more modern side, I added vintage candle sticks with clean lines.  Despite the uneven surface, the shims are narrow enough that items large and small can find a flat surface to rest on anywhere across the top.

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And modern satin nickel knobs on the glossy drawer fronts make a nice modern finishing touch.

All together the piece sings a modern-coastal song:

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Modern Coastal Dresser
$600
SOLD

 

As for the progress on my 2015 flip bucket list, that means I've got 6 down and 1 to go before the end of the year.  Woot Woot!

Want to catch up?  Since January, I've crossed off items:
No.6
No.5
No.7
No.4
No.3
and now No.2: wood shim treatment

Here's to hoping that I can squeeze in item No.1: Build my Own Bakers Rack before 2016!

Dresser for a baby girl {Before & After}

The weekend is here and it's lookin' sweet. My girl, Shire, and I are heading north a bit to visit my sister for the weekend! It's a real treat to spend time with both of those lovelies and I know it'll be over too soon. So, we're gonna move slow and drink it in!

Speaking of girls, I've had the absolute privilege of getting to refinish a dresser changing table combo for a sweet baby girl due to arrive this Christmas! The piece is for my cousin, John, and his wife, Jen, who are the expectant parents of this little one. When they reached out to me about refinishing a piece for her nursery I got right to work before even responding yes! I adore nurseries. It's such an honor whenever I have an opportunity to refinish a piece for such a thoughtful room. It's a special place where sweet memories are made. Sigh.

John and Jen were particularly open minded and allowed quite a bit of creative freedom for this project. Here is their piece when I found it:

Great size, plenty of storage without being overwhelmingly huge, sturdy, and a piece that'll certainly grow with the child. Their request was for something light in look, which this piece was quite the opposite of before the work started! 

And after, in white lacquered glory!

Handmade rope pulls and pink glass knobs are the stars of this show!

Glidden's Trim, Door and Furniture paint does it again! This uber thick paint, which is ridiculously durable, settles to a smooth, glassy finish in a nice high sheen. Love how it bounces the light and adds to the visual interest of this otherwise boxy piece!

THE SET-BACK: Like any solid Love It or List It, (HGTV), show, many Before & After stories have at least one challenge to work through. I was planning to cover this piece in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint's Pure White and give it some gentle distressing for a cozy, weathered look. I suspected there would be terrible bleed-through, (an unsettling discoloration that seeps through layer after layer of paint - a dreadful, but typical occurrence with old pieces), so I sealed it with two layers of Zinnsers Clear Shellac before breaking out the chalk paint. Even after sealing the piece and then painting, this was the mess at hand: See all that brown? I decided to change course and see what the Glidden Trim, Door and Furniture paint would do since it's thick as molasses and oil-based. It worked like a dream; the best dream ever!!! A big bonus with this paint is that it wipes clean SO easily - highly preferred for a piece that will double as a changing table. 

Thankful that this crises was averted! I was getting ready for a tough break-up with this piece and nearly called Jen to deliver the bad news. Not recommended to do to a first-time expectant Momma. Second and on? It's your gamble. 

So excited to meet the little lady to whom this piece will soon belong!

Refinishing furniture is something I've enjoyed for about 4 years now. I've finished hundreds of pieces, many as custom orders! If you've got something in mind that you'd like for your own home, please email me at chelsea@stylemutthome.com. I'd love to hear what you have in mind!

Thank you all for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!