Somebody pinch me...I'm a guest on My Repurposed Life...WOW!!! Thanks so much Gail for having me over!
I'm Lori , an Alabama girl transplanted to Northern California, and I love to create unique pieces for my home from whatever I can find. Faith and family come first, but my second love is the world of blogging. I create over at Bleak 2 Unique , and I would love if you stopped by and introduced yourself...I love meeting new blog friends. Needless to say, I'm super excited to be here to share some creativity with y'all today. Honestly, when Gail asked me to be a guest, I immediately did a little happy dance...and then I found myself somewhere between jubilant and terrified. With about a million undone projects, I had to decide on one to tackle...and it had to be good enough for one of my "must read" blogs...NO pressure, right?! Fortunately, Gail's patience and kindness calmed all my nerves and I got busy on my latest Bleak 2 Unique revamp. Well, enough about me, let's get on with the makeover...
I scored these two vintage beauties at a garage sale for only $5 each, and I fell in love. It took about 6 months to come up with a plan, but I finally decided on distressed blue, with a little bit of glam- nightstands with mirrored drawers. I always start with a plan, but you know what they say about the best laid plans...
Picking a color is always troublesome for me, but I finally settled on a one of the Historic Preservation colors from Valspar... Oatlands Dainty Blue. At some point I really need to choose a color other than blue...maybe next time!
Next I got the rest of my supplies together to make up a batch of Paris paint, (my version of Annie Sloan chalk paint). I do love the original "Chalk" paint, but I am a DIYer at heart, and mine is super easy to make. See Gail's recipe for DIY Chalky Paint Primer.
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Just use any paint with plaster of paris.
The great thing about Paris paint is that you don't have any prep work...just paint, sand and wax. Gotta love that! I didn't want to paint all of the inside, so I grabbed my Frog Tape to ensure straight lines...
Once everything was taped I grabbed my brush and got busy painting. The Paris paint will have brush marks, but no need to worry, the sanding takes care of it.
I left the center of the drawer face unpainted so I could add a little glam. While the paint was drying I headed over to Mac's...
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If you live in the bay area and you need glass cut this is the guy to see....thanks Mac! I got 4 mirror panels for my drawer fronts for $20, and he had them ready the next day. Mac...your the man!
I set the mirrors aside for later and started the sanding process...NOT my favorite thing to do, but the Paris paint makes it easier. For the smoothest finish I used a fine sandpaper . . .
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I spent the next few hours preparing my drawer pulls. Since I opted for the "no hole" version of mirrors, I needed to have pulls that were flat...out comes the hack saw...
I would not recommend this...it was tedious and exhausting work to cut all eight of these posts off. Next I painted them with a Rustoleum Metallic Spray Paint . . .
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It was at this stage of the plan that I stood back to admire my creation, and I was disappointed...not the plan! I loved the distressed blue, and the touch of glam, but the drawer pulls didn't excite me, and they needed a punch of color. Time for a revised plan. I searched the web and found a little color inspiration...Orange!
With the new color chosen I decided to paint a flower on the top of each table. When I painted my Nursery Mural I used stencils, but this time I wanted a more whimsical feel, so I started sketching...
Before painting the flower I outlined my sketch with an Orange Sharpie ...
To paint the flowers I used orange, then added shading with red-orange, peach, and white. The center colors are brown and yellow...
After the flowers were finished I waxed both tables....and then I giggled with delight! Seriously, I was so happy with the new pop of color, and I could hardly wait to see them finished. I only needed to secure the mirrors, find the perfect drawer pulls, and add a little something extra...
My something extra was adding my favorite passages of scripture to the inside of the drawers... a visual reminder of the power of God's love every day...
Before heading out to buy drawer pulls I remembered my recent Thrift finds, which included a few vintage glass knobs ....Perfect! Wish I had thought of these BEFORE I spent all that time with the hack saw.
To find the center of each mirror I used a ruler to draw a straight line from corner to corner, like so...
To finish up I attached the knobs to the mirrors with epoxy, and waited 24 hours for the Gorilla Glue Epoxy to set.
And finally my
"Southern Blue Belles" were done...Here they are...
This has been such fun, and I am so glad that I was able to share with y'all today. I love comments (who doesn't), so let me know what you think. Gail, you are the greatest...thanks again!
Lori—I love the way your nightstands turned out! The blue is so pretty, the mirrors and the knobs really draw me in. Thanks for sharing your nightstand makeover with me.
gail
I appreciate you reading
Mary
Pretty! Pretty! Pretty!
I Play Outside The Box
What a transformation!!! Love the idea of writing inside the drawers!!
Rita
This transformation is UNBELIEVABLE!! LOOOVVEE the scriputre inside the drawers. what a special personal touch! These truely blew me away 😉
Carolyn
Lori, I can't tell you how impressed I am with this profect. And free handing those flowers takes a lot of guts. You obviously have more artistic talent than I do. And the mirror fronts in genius. Good job. Now following you!
http://kamsmomusa.blogspot.com
Laurel Stephens
My hat's off to Lori! This is one of the most creative projects I've seen, and I just love it! Thanks for sharing it with us, Gail. I'm heading over to Lori's now to see what else she's been up to.
Toqua's Crafts
Gorgeous! Definitely went from "Bleak 2 Unique"!! I left a comment on her blog too. 🙂 Have a good week Gail!
Dee
Absolutely beautiful. I wish I was able to do what you do.
Laurel Stephens
You are so darn creative. I LOVE what you've done with these!
Nadine @ Chic with the Kool-Aid Mustache
Great ideas with the mirrors and love that pop of orange color! I think you've convinced me to try to DIY some chalk paint.
Mary
Love the colors. You're very creative!
Pam Jackson
Great job.
SuttonsDaze
Simply Stunning!
Wendy
From one Alabama girl to another, outstanding! The mirrored fronts and vintage glass knobs are inspired, and your freehand artwork is quite impressive. These are very pretty pieces, for sure! But I have to ask. Blue and orange? A hint at your allegiance? 😉
GadgetSponge.com
What a fantastic tutorial! The end result look terrific. The mirrors, the artwork and the extra touches are all great ideas.
Amy Sarah
Great job! The colors are striking and the mirror panels were a wonderful idea! Brava!
Full Circle Creations
These look great! Love the glam and pop of color with the flower.
Holly
Melissa
I really like the orange flower, it totally makes it! I would've never thought to paint a flower on top! Very creative!
Liz - Imageremix
That pressure paid off. You wowed us! These are gorgeous. I too have wanted to use a quote inside the drawers of a dresser, but I never got around to it. I think it's a very cool idea. The whole thing is fantastic. I'm always amazed by those who can freehand their designs. Nice work.
Liz
TheSewingLoft
They look wonderful!! I have an old night stand that could use a little love and I might give this a try.
Rose @ Confessions of a Curbshopaholic
How pretty those look with the mirrors in the front! Great idea. This is a really cute makeover!