Before & After
Published in Widowism by chefswidowOur family doesn’t buy new furniture. We never have. Before mini’s, the Chef and I lived in NYC and we were broke ass poor. Our rent was high (for us) and all of our money went towards that. Thank god we were both in the industry because we would starved otherwise.
Furniture was not on our priority list of things to buy. We needed it though, and I soon found that when people got sick of their furniture in New York City, they would put it on their curb. Most of this curbed furniture was in decent condition, thrown out because it was out of style. I would tell the Chef, he would send dudes, and soon enough I would have a new dresser. Being the stylish chicka that I am, I would throw myself into a furniture rehab. Whether it be painting, sanding, or a faux finish, I would make the curbed out of style furniture my own.
This obsession with re-purposing obviously grew larger when we opened up the restie. I would spend hours searching garage sales, antique stores, and barn sales for the perfect flatware cabinet. Over time, we filled the restaurant with re-purposed items and I got lucky enough to take a few home. I found the following piece at a garage sale while I was pregnant with Biggie Smalls. The woman selling it told me she bought at West Tech High School (my grandpa’s alma mater) and it was used in the shop department. The dresser was unlike anything I had ever seen. I paid her $40 for it.
Three years later I finally finished the rehab.
Before
Do you likey? Do you ever rehab furniture? If yes, what are your favorite inspiration sites?
Love it! I esp like the bright blue accent color for the hardware. I am really into neons these days, my fave right now is neon lime green.
I’ve never tried to refinish anything (I’m scurred) but I have made a few things out of scrap lumber. I’m more of a refurb type of gal when it comes to old clothes- take old shirts and turn them into pants for the kids, a headband, etc. My husbands shirts always seem to mysteriously disappear
Omg!!! It looks great!!! I have the best intentions, but I’m possibly the LEAST handy person you’ll meet. That and my natural impatience = project disaster : )
I wish I was that talented- it looks gorgeous (and cool)!
I have a gorgeous piece of furniture, a buffet that my grandmother bought with her income tax money in 1942. Yeah. It’s old. It so needs to be refurbished. I am too lazy/scared to do it. Maybe I can talk my Chef into helping me do it??? NOT!
Thank you! So glad it is being received well. I absolutely love it. I wish I could do more rehab. My next project is a rocking chair. I just need to figure out what color complements navy the most. Any suggestions? xx
kelly green… such a cool hue with navy. i’m becoming a junkie.
Cool! I’ve been refurbing some chairs that came from my great great gramps. I love old fashioned milk paint. Super safe for the kiddos and you don’t have to be in a well ventilated space to use it.
I just rehabed a 4-drawer night stand I had as a little girl for my daughter. Painted it a beautiful Garden Sage (Martha Stewart) and found adorable pink jewel handles. PERFECT for her room! I love that the drawers that housed all my little treasures and diaries will house her treasures and diaries!
I get most of my inspiration from Centsational Girl’s blog – http://www.centsationalgirl.com
Good Luck with your future projects!
Who painted the pic above the dresser? Its too cool…
I like. I wish I had talent and/or patience to do this. I painted my daughters bathroom last year, removed wallpaper etc and want to do more but still haven’t gotten very far.
Granted I did do it in the heat of summer, with no a/c and before I had a job.HAHA
I actually have on my plans to paint an old white dresser tiffany blue and then deconstruct it so it looks older and add new hardware. All the hardware gets expensive though!
Marjorie
The painting was done by Melissa Oberdoester. Local CLE artist. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cleveland-OH/Moz-Art/206250168450?ref=ts
LOVE IT! The chef and I are thinking of moving into a duplex and it has lots of extra space, so maybe I can rehab some pieces from craigslist and furnish our new pad for super cheap! Thanks for the idea!
Love the painting. alot. My boyfriend was Chef at the Union Club and he loved Cleveland. Lots of cool artists there…He bought me the coolest ring at some gallery downtown and I get so many compliments on it…Oh, Geode. That was the name of it…
I love the dresser!