Flip-Off: Chelsea's MCM Restoration

Happy Thanksgiving Eve! We sure have enjoyed sharing our flip-off pieces with you this week and you may be thankful to know that this is the last post of the bunch! Hah! Much like Cate's story, I had out of this world plans for these pieces when they came into my possession, but ultimately convenience, budget and using what I had on hand won out.

My original plan involved actually making these two pieces into one 6-drawer dresser. I was going to deconstruct them completely, giving them a new top and base, and attach them together from the inside. But then I saw them side by side and realized I wanted their future owner to have the choice between using them as one unit or as two!

After giving them a shiny coat using Rustoleum Protective Enamel in High Gloss White, and new tapered angled legs, I decided that hardware would be my best bet for giving the illusion of one piece. I wanted something sleek and thin, but easy to grab hold of - when I saw this 'L' shaped wood molding at Home Depot it was perfect! I cut the pieces to fit the width of each drawer, stained them in Hickory wood stain, (same as I used on the legs), and screwed them into the pieces! When the pieces are side by side, the long pulls create the unified, sleek look I envisioned!

Now these pieces look fantastic side-by-side and could be used as a dresser, or apart as nightstands! My number one motive when refinishing a piece of furniture is versatility. Since I am more likely to spend my money on something that can be used multiple ways, I think that way as a flipper as well.

This pair got snatched up quick but I've got more goodies coming out of the garage soon!

Thank you so much for joining us this week with our mini-flip-off series! Your kind words have been so encouraging to both Cate and I and we certainly count you among our blessings this Thanksgiving. We'll be taking the rest of the week off to spend time with family and friends, but will be back next week getting ready for Christmas!

Gobble, gobble, yo.

Flip-Off: Cate's MCM Restoration

I'm driving down a country road and I'm hopelessly lost.  Typical.  But after reviewing google maps at quaint old-fashioned gas station, I'm on my way again practically chomping at the bit to see this craigslist find in person.  My GPS tells me to turn down a street that's not even paved - just gravel.  This is the moment where the banjo's from Deliverance start playing in my head.  Could some savvy psycho be luring me to my death with mid-century-modern furniture?  I'd have to hand it to them if so - MCM at a steal is the perfect bait.  I should really fear for my life more... but pieces are solid walnut...   By now I'm turning off the gravel road onto a gravel driveway.  It swoops around a shed and up a hill only to dead-end at the most adorable cottage with a charming garden.  I am greeted by kind smiles from the homeowners who have lined the chest quadruplets on their garden wall just for me - it feels like a homecoming parade.  

Clearly I didn't need to have my husband on speed-dial in my pocket for this craigslist interaction.  Turns out Donna and her husband couldn't have been more welcoming or accommodating.  We start talking while they helped me load up all four beauties and it became obvious that we were kindred spirits.  Not only do they have a Younglife background like Caleb's family but they have a daughter who's a fellow home decor enthusiast and is also married to a Special Ed teacher/ coach.  Uncanny.  

I'm convinced that stumbling across this ad was a divine arrangement.  And as Chelsea explained in yesterday's post, we had big joint plans for these babies.  So what do you get when two sisters-in-law take identical pairs of furniture pieces to flip in total secrecy from each other?

Furniture-In-Laws!

[Or just two creative sets of furniture relatives]

So let's take a closer look at my restorative approach to the flip-off:

Driving over to pick them up, I had every drastic transformation idea rolling through my head.  But once I saw them in person at Donna's house, I fell in love.  I just wanted them to see them returned to their former glory.

For starters, they need gold double-breasted-button-like hardware.  It just so happened that I had some I could harvest from the "white monster" and all I had to do was deepen the original yellowy/brassy finish with our favorite faux gold technique.  I also debated doing an angled tapered leg like Chelsea did but had four straight mounting brackets already lying around.  So convenience won out all around.

And of course I couldn't wait to grab Chelsea's Axel Co. reclaimed wood hexagon shelf to style with.  

Other than the hardware and legs, all I really needed to do was restore the glassy finish [I applied a coat of minwax polyshades in pecan with a foam brush].  Ugh look at that juicy wood grain shine!!

As we are in the throws of moving, and I'm scrambling to furbish our new 800 sq.ft. apartment with functional pieces, these dapper gentlemen are now flanking our bed for some much needed extra storage.  I'm still unpacking so more photos will be coming soon once the sea of cardboard subsides.  

And don't forget to stop by tomorrow to get more deets from Chelsea on her show-stopping two-tone flip!

Flip-Off Reveal!

This is a story of two friends and four identical 3-drawer chests, (one of those must-have Craigslist finds). Each friend took two and flipped them - all while keeping their plan a secret from the other!

After weeks of planning, scheming, ordering supplies, and working at all hours, the friends and their once identical pieces were reunited for their big reveal!

And the two friends were delighted by each others cleverness!

Not identical anymore! We'll be revealing the full details of each makeover in depth this week, but we couldn't believe how different we had flipped these, (aside from the fact that we happened to choose the exact same leg size)!

Naturally, we had to get in a photo shoot with our muses before sending them their separate ways once again, (Cate is using hers as nightstands, and Chelsea's have already sold).

Thank you so much for stopping by! We'll be back tomorrow and Wednesday to share the low-down on each makeover, the materials we used, and how we styled our finished product!