I finished a project!
Two days in a row you say? Why yes! Part of pulling myself out of hermit mode means I can think about other things. Today was a surprisingly big day for me. I've had a project slowly going on in my home since March, and today, I finished it. Like, completely and utterly finished. Why did it take me seven and a half months to finish? Well. I will tell you.
First, I'm slow with these kinds of things. I know, it's anticlimactic, but there it is. Design is not my strength so it takes my brain a long time to visualize how to get the result I want. Second, it was a personal project that had some emotions tied to it. Earlier this year I brought home a dresser that had belonged to my grandparents. Once my grandmother passed, her belongings had to be dealt with, and I received this dresser. Originally, I planned on using it as a dresser since we actually needed a new one. Once we moved it across the state and up the stairs into my bedroom, I quickly realized that was not going to work because I wouldn't be able to look at it and see anything other than my grandmother's dresser.
In any case, it sat in the middle of my bedroom for a few months before I forced my son to help me carry it back down the stairs and place it in my kitchen/dining area. I wasn't willing to discard the dresser, but it couldn't remain as it was. This dresser was easily 60 years old and is part of my memories of her house. I also couldn't have a dresser in my kitchen. And that's when I turned to Pinterest.
After months of scrolling through all the pictures, I decided the best way to go would be to convert it to a buffet. Basically, half of the 7+ months was just me trying to figure out what I wanted to do. The next three and a half months involved choosing the color, type of paint, etc. Then I slowly finished one step at time with weeks in between.
This meant I had a dresser and two drawers sitting out on my floor for half the year. My husband and children loved this. LOVED. IT. What family doesn't want half completed projects taking up their living space for months at a time? And then tonight, suddenly, it was done. I'd painted it, sealed it, and added the hardware. We moved it into its home, put a framed picture on the wall above it, and it was finished.
Now that it's settled into its spot, I absolutely love it. Not only is it beautiful to me, but it also has a very special meaning. I get the added prideful pleasure of knowing that I transformed it into something that can have a second life. And now for pictures! I forgot to take a good before picture, but I have an in progress pic along with the finished product.
First, I'm slow with these kinds of things. I know, it's anticlimactic, but there it is. Design is not my strength so it takes my brain a long time to visualize how to get the result I want. Second, it was a personal project that had some emotions tied to it. Earlier this year I brought home a dresser that had belonged to my grandparents. Once my grandmother passed, her belongings had to be dealt with, and I received this dresser. Originally, I planned on using it as a dresser since we actually needed a new one. Once we moved it across the state and up the stairs into my bedroom, I quickly realized that was not going to work because I wouldn't be able to look at it and see anything other than my grandmother's dresser.
In any case, it sat in the middle of my bedroom for a few months before I forced my son to help me carry it back down the stairs and place it in my kitchen/dining area. I wasn't willing to discard the dresser, but it couldn't remain as it was. This dresser was easily 60 years old and is part of my memories of her house. I also couldn't have a dresser in my kitchen. And that's when I turned to Pinterest.
After months of scrolling through all the pictures, I decided the best way to go would be to convert it to a buffet. Basically, half of the 7+ months was just me trying to figure out what I wanted to do. The next three and a half months involved choosing the color, type of paint, etc. Then I slowly finished one step at time with weeks in between.
This meant I had a dresser and two drawers sitting out on my floor for half the year. My husband and children loved this. LOVED. IT. What family doesn't want half completed projects taking up their living space for months at a time? And then tonight, suddenly, it was done. I'd painted it, sealed it, and added the hardware. We moved it into its home, put a framed picture on the wall above it, and it was finished.
Now that it's settled into its spot, I absolutely love it. Not only is it beautiful to me, but it also has a very special meaning. I get the added prideful pleasure of knowing that I transformed it into something that can have a second life. And now for pictures! I forgot to take a good before picture, but I have an in progress pic along with the finished product.
This is early in the process. Jon took out the bottom 4 drawers and turned it into an open display/storage space.
This is after the first coat of chalk paint.
And here's the finished product! I stained the top a darker color, sealed the entire thing with a polycrylic sealer, and added new drawer pulls. Plus, I finally hung our beautiful picture of the Falls Park Bridge. It looks somewhat bare at the moment, but I'm waiting to put anything on it until it cures at least another day.
Even I can be crafty from time to time. It just takes me the better part of a year for me to finish. =)
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