When we moved from the house in Longview, we packed up our china and serving dishes. When we got to El Paso, we never had a place to unpack them to. Because of that, they stayed packed in boxes for 4 years! Yep. Very unlike us, we didn't entertain much over that 4 year period. When we moved here, we wanted to get them out and actually use them. That was a good thought, but we didn't have a place to put them here, either. That put us on the search for the perfect piece.
We are on a pretty tight budget. We lucked out on the piece we bought the first week that is in the living room. I am going to remake it into an office space. The price on that was unbelievable, so I was hoping that I would find a piece for the dining room at a bargain price. That didn't happen.
After several weeks of shopping, checking garage sales and craigslist, we finally found a real bargain on craigslist. We bought the piece for $50! So what if it is from the 70s. It is a sturdy piece. I was thinking a coat of paint would make a big difference. I researched and checked Pinterest. I had a plan!
Notice the beautiful insets and hardware? I was going to make it work anyway.
I took off the doors and all the hardware. I then taped and papered off the inside. I Wanted to leave the wood inside. I confess part of the reason was less to paint. While I was taking the doors off, Dean suggested we put the doors back on inside out. That way, we don't have all that attractive inset, carving and hardware. I thought it was a great idea.
I bought Cover Stain by Zinsser. It was 18.00 at Home Depot. I had several small rollers. I was set.
Remember I am married to Dean - a perfectionist. Sometimes I wonder why he picked me. I am so far from perfect. I don't mind a more casual look. Maybe some shabby chic. Maybe some antiquing. Dean, not so much. Since I am asking for some help, I am trying to make this as much like he would like it to be as possible. Compromise is interesting some of the time. I digress. I was going to explain that I put two coats of primer on to get a perfect cover. Notice the perfect theme? That comes back to bite me a few days later as we tried to put the doors back on.
Because the doors meet and don't have any dividing boards, they had to meet just right. Two layers of primer and two layers of paint really add on the thickness. Oops. We didn't plan for that. this is when things slowed down. We had to do some sanding and painting. Just the sanding blocks was not cutting it, so we invested in a new palm sander. I know we have one, but Dean hasn't gone through all the tools. I will be glad when it is cooler and he can do that. It surely will make some of our projects a lot easier to have the right tools. We probably needed one anyway. Ours was really old. It was an old hand me down when we got it.
Finally, after about 10 days, we had it completed! It is a really heavy piece. We moved it in last night, and I filled it up.
Here is the final product! Looks great, doesn't it? Don't the raised panel doors look so much better than the heavy carvings? I am not sure how I am going accessorize the top quite yet. I don't want a lot, so we can use it to serve from when we have parties.
And here is the dining room. I need to get some artwork for the walls. The house is shaping up!
More projects coming soon!
We are on a pretty tight budget. We lucked out on the piece we bought the first week that is in the living room. I am going to remake it into an office space. The price on that was unbelievable, so I was hoping that I would find a piece for the dining room at a bargain price. That didn't happen.
After several weeks of shopping, checking garage sales and craigslist, we finally found a real bargain on craigslist. We bought the piece for $50! So what if it is from the 70s. It is a sturdy piece. I was thinking a coat of paint would make a big difference. I researched and checked Pinterest. I had a plan!
I took off the doors and all the hardware. I then taped and papered off the inside. I Wanted to leave the wood inside. I confess part of the reason was less to paint. While I was taking the doors off, Dean suggested we put the doors back on inside out. That way, we don't have all that attractive inset, carving and hardware. I thought it was a great idea.
I bought Cover Stain by Zinsser. It was 18.00 at Home Depot. I had several small rollers. I was set.
Remember I am married to Dean - a perfectionist. Sometimes I wonder why he picked me. I am so far from perfect. I don't mind a more casual look. Maybe some shabby chic. Maybe some antiquing. Dean, not so much. Since I am asking for some help, I am trying to make this as much like he would like it to be as possible. Compromise is interesting some of the time. I digress. I was going to explain that I put two coats of primer on to get a perfect cover. Notice the perfect theme? That comes back to bite me a few days later as we tried to put the doors back on.
Because the doors meet and don't have any dividing boards, they had to meet just right. Two layers of primer and two layers of paint really add on the thickness. Oops. We didn't plan for that. this is when things slowed down. We had to do some sanding and painting. Just the sanding blocks was not cutting it, so we invested in a new palm sander. I know we have one, but Dean hasn't gone through all the tools. I will be glad when it is cooler and he can do that. It surely will make some of our projects a lot easier to have the right tools. We probably needed one anyway. Ours was really old. It was an old hand me down when we got it.
Finally, after about 10 days, we had it completed! It is a really heavy piece. We moved it in last night, and I filled it up.
And here is the dining room. I need to get some artwork for the walls. The house is shaping up!
More projects coming soon!
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