Measure twice, cut once . . .

Things had been tripping merrily along on my dresser work, although weather and life contrived to set me back a couple of weeks, but no matter. The primer went on easily and dried quickly. The first coat of paint - a lovely caramel called "Weathered Wicker" - went on fairly easily (I cannot stress enough how important it is to buy the best brush you can afford. I did not, and my project suffered for it).

That's when I made my first mistake.

Bits of primer showed through my so-called one-coat paint. What I COULD have done was embrace this, maybe even play it up, and utilize a distressed look, which would be very appropriate for the vintage of this dresser. But instead, I decided to try and put another coat of paint on. I did several things wrong (please, learn from me, and then I won't feel so foolish). First, I was painting in a cold garage during a cold, wet spell of weather. Even with a radiator-type heater on in the garage, I was still teetering at the low end of the recommended temps for this particular paint, and it is best to follow those type of guidelines when they are provided by the manufacturer. Nor did I dilute/thin the paint, which may have helped. Second, I used my less-than-ideal, and now damp, brush. Third, I did not take the extra couple of weeks and paint each surface on the horizontal. I'm sure that painters more experienced than I would have no problem painting the dresser's vertical surfaces, but my lack of experience paired with the thickness of the paint resulted in some heavy drips and spalling that really bothered me.

The week after the second paint job, I was tired of the project and ready to be done fighting the paint. My decision was made for me when I realized the paint was too wet still to sand and re-paint any drips or gaps. So, I loaded the dresser and all five drawers (which I had painted on the horizontal, and which came out beautifully, if I say so myself, which I do) into my trusty RAV4, and headed home, more than slightly disgruntled.

Oh, that the screw-ups ended there! After letting the dresser dry for two weeks inside my home (the dresser in my bedroom, the drawers in my craftroom), I decided to apply the custom decal onto the drawer fronts. The old carpenter's maxim "measure twice, cut once" could easily be adapted in this case to "orient twice, apply once." After applying the decal to three of the drawers (and, I should add, it looks lovely), I realized I carelessly had the drawers facing the wrong way, and thus had applied the decals UPSIDE-DOWN. *sigh* and *double-sigh.* Even though I was able to correctly apply the decal to the bottom two drawers, the damage, such as it is, was done. I felt rather defeated at this point, and sat on the couch for a while to bemoan my stupidity.

After several minutes of vocal self-beratement (I'll spare you the language, but suffice to say, it was deservedly harsh), I contacted decalfarm on Etsy and asked them to make me the same decal AGAIN, this time without the last three words (since those are correctly applied). Applying the new decals will be easy, and it isn't an expensive mistake (the decal will run me about $20), but removing the upside-down decals, without damaging my new paint job, will not be so easy. I've not yet decided if I should let them sit a week or two for the paint to dry longer, before I use my hair-dryer to heat and oh-so-gently remove the decals.

Wish me luck. I'll post pictures soon.

Antique Dresser Renovation

I inherited a vanity and dresser from my great-aunt. I do not know much about the set, and have not researched it yet. It is simple pine (I think), and was decorated in a "Western" style. Scalloped edges with a cactus motif on the top dresser drawer and the vanity seat, with wrought-iron hardware, including horseshoe drawer pulls. When I was in high school, my father refinished the vanity for me and painted the vanity a cream color, and repainted the hardware black. After college I retrieved the vanity from my parents and have used it since. The dresser was never refinished.

After using shelving instead of a dresser for years, I decided I was tired of the lack of space and the messiness of using shelves. The dresser has been stored in a barn on my parents' 10-acre orchard. It was dirty and the paint peeling, but no major water damage or other problems after long years of neglect.

On January 2nd, I decided to start the year off right by digging into the dresser renovation, so I headed out to the orchard armed with work clothes and N95 masks. My father loaned me hand tools, sand paper, an electric sander, and a shop vac. It took me about three hours of solid work, but I removed the hardware, sanded off most of the (probably lead-based) paint, and used wood-putting to fill the holes left by hardware that I do not intend to replace. (I forgot to take "before" pictures, but I am leaving off the corner accent hardware, and replacing the pulls with knobs, so I only need two holes per drawer, rather than four).

That was the largest sanding job I have done, and I felt damn good when it was done, if foot- and back-sore. Here are some pics of the January 2nd work:

Thanks to my dad over at www.sanddollaradventures.com for taking pictures, and for use of the tools.

Handcraft for the (non)Homeowner

I'm becoming a DIY fanatic. Sometimes to save money, sometimes to get something just how I want it, but always to have fun and exercise my creative muscles. I should be saving money, but I'm almost compulsively working on a few projects right now. Even coupon-cutting and using big box discount stores doesn't keep it all from adding up quickly. I'm relying a lot on BHG to help me figure out where to scrimp and where to splurge.

One of the biggest frustrations (at least for me) about renting is the inability to do whatever I want when it comes to home improvement and interior design. I do not want to do anything so permanent that I cannot reverse it, else I risk my (hefty, in my current case) security deposit. I also do not want to invest too much money that is lost when I leave, if it goes to improvements that I cannot take with me. However, I am willing to trade some of that for a dwelling that I am really happy to come home to, and the older I get, the greater my desire to nest, at least in the design and craft sense.

So I've decided to try and balance those opposing forces, and see where it takes me. I will be cataloging the good, the bad and the ugly here. The best results will be for sale over at my shop thegatheringstorm.etsy.com.

Thanks for visiting!