Getting Creative with Furniture

As my budget is tight, I've tried to find ways to get creative with homemaking. Making big batches of tomato sauce and storing them in the freezer, buying ten boxes of pasta when they are on sale (ten for $10) things like that. So when I needed some furniture for one of my home's bedrooms, I thought about how I could get things done on the cheap.

I truly cannot stand most of the furniture on the market. It's cheaply made with particle board and looks like every other piece of furniture. The nicer stuff often costs and arm and a leg. I tend to buy repurposed furniture, or well-crafted pieces from places like Restoration Hardware (where we got our beautiful new bed).

I used to visit an amazing shop called Savannah Hope Vintage (that now sells at the Brooklyn Flea) whose owner finds amazing old furniture -- high quality, well made wood pieces -- and repaints them to make them fabulous. I had her refinish my grandparents old bedroom set, and also bought six other pieces that she did.

Though there are many pieces that I've wanted to buy from her, my budget didn't allow for more than $20 - $40 for this room. I decided to try and copy something that I saw at Savannah Hope Vintage. It was an ombré effect in shades of grey. Yesterday, I went out and found a dresser from the 1970's, something similar to what I had as a child, and went about getting colors to paint the dresser.

The dresser. Before.

I bought sample sizes of four shades of green, beginning with one that was almost white. Then I lightly sanded the wood, removed the handles, and set up to paint.

Paint shades and sanding sponge.

The process was cathartic. I loved the process (except, maybe, sanding). Seeing the colors come together, drawer after drawer, excited me. I couldn't stop until I was done. I wanted to see the finished product. After a few hours of sanding and painting, here is the final piece (drawers open to allow for optimum drying). I am so excited about it that I think I'm going to do more. Baby, we're gonna need a bigger home.