Monday, August 1, 2011

Can You Believe This Was a Freebie?

Yay yay yay! I'm finally ready to share the redo of my free curbside dresser! I'm completely happy with how it turned out. And it's going to be a permanent fixture in the Lovely Beasts household. Only the second piece of furniture that I have kept since my very first redo that started this blog!

What did it look like before again? You're probably tired of these pictures but here it was in its dirty-peeling-veneer glory.

I wasn't able to salvage the bottom 2 drawers because of the extensive damage not only to the veneer but the wood underneath it. So I removed them completely and painted the inside with Behr Semi-gloss Creamy White. I used a putty knife and hammer to scrape the veneer off the top of the dresser and the first 2 drawers, and followed it with some sanding using an electric sander.

There were a some pockets in the wood and a slash on the right leg so I filled them in with Minwax Wood Putty.

I mentioned in this post how I spray painted 2 of the original pulls and 2 additional pulls I picked up from an antique fair.

And after 3 coats of Creamy White over the entire dresser with sanding in between, I have my Lovely Beast. Get ready for the pictures ladies and gentlemen.
Love the Beasts,
Emily

Linking to:
PhotobucketDomestically SpeakingDIY Club

35 comments:

  1. She is stunning! i would have never in a million years guessed she could look that amazing! LOVE, LOVE,LOVE it!

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  2. All I can say is WOW! You rocked that dresser and she appreciates it! Talk about a breath of fresh air Emily!!! Way to go.

    I wouldn't part with it either; you put in a lot of work on that baby and it paid off!!!

    Nice job!

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  3. I am proud of you girl! She looks amazing!! Truly a trash to treasure transformation!!

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  4. Hi Emily! I LOVE your redo!! WOW! Great idea to take the bottom 2 drawers out too, and make them into hideaway shelves.. it looks awesome!

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  5. Holy mackrel! You really worked it out. Nice. I'm glad you're keeping it only you can appreciate all the hardwork that went into it.

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  6. I love this dresser, I like it with the missing drawers and the open shelves. I like the original hardware too, I have a couple of similar pieces. Great photography too, showing off all the details!

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  7. Wow! Great job! and you can't do better than "free"!

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  8. This turned out great! What an awesome freebie! I love how the new painted hardware looks against the white!

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  9. HOLY COW...this looks like an entirely different piece of furniture. I love the drawers being out...makes it look like NOW. :)
    You did a great job...
    xo bj

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  10. such a nice job! I totally didn't see that coming - removing the veneer and converting drawers to cubbies. Clever! and a very modern way to squeeze the most function out of a piece of compromised furniture - bravo for you! Most people definitely would have tossed this out. Oh wait! Someone did toss it out, right? YOU saved it from the landfill and look at it now! Glam-o-rama baby! Seriously, great job Emily. LOVE it! ~diane

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  11. I would have never got that 'beast' home because I wouldn't have thought of such transformation, in the first place. You did such a great job. Half of the people won't believe that you actually did that. AWESOME.


    Saw your link on 'At The Picket Fence'. I am hosting my first Link-up party - Tea Time Thursdays. Would be glad to see some of your awesome posts there. Hope to see ya at the party :)

    http://tanyaanurag.blogspot.com/2011/08/celebrating-one-party-time.html

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  12. People are CRA-ZEEE!!! They just don't see the potential! Love this sort of thing! I call 'em prairie doves, you call 'em lovely beasts... They all just need a little lovin'. I'm signing on (I'm new to blogging), and I hope you will come by and visit, too! My icon is the chicken, Regards, Andrea @ townandprairie.blogspot.com

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  13. It's such a stunning and unique piece now, I love it!! Poor thing, I bet it's so glad you picked it up and gave it a new life! :)

    Tania

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  14. Wow! You did a fabulous job. Who would have thought that beauty was within? Many people would have passed over that ugly chest of drawers but you made it beautiful again. Well done!

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  15. That looks AMAZING!!! Love every detail!!

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  16. Totally inspired me to finish the dresser I have been working on. I am going to leave off the bottom drawer & store linens in baskets. Great idea!

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  17. Thank you dg and jmpratt! Sorry I wasn't able to find your emails, but I really appreciate your kind comments. So glad you were able to get some inspiration for your projects from my dresser save!!!

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  18. I love what you did! I'm now thinking about this with a piece I've been waiting for the hubs to help me fix a drawer...maybe I shouldn't fix it at all!

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  19. I have a desk that looks bad...like your dresser and I was going to dismantle it...but maybe I will try to save it instead...this is beautiful!

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  20. gorgeous makeover! i love the open shelves instead of drawers!

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  22. I'm now thinking I won't pass up any piece of furniture no matter what it looks like. If you can bring that thing back to life like you did....anything is possible. Just love it! And the best part.....FREE!

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  23. I have a dresser I was going to redo, what did you do to make a bottom for the shelf?

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  24. Dzięki za instrukcję:-) pozdrawiam:-)

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  26. What an amazing job! I think leaving the bottom dressers out gave it a cool and timeless look. I saw that most of the comments are from 2011, still looks great is classic and timeless. I am working on a antique piece and am hoping I can pull it off.
    Anyway, fantastic job!

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  27. WoW!! Looks great! Amazing transformation! www.lovesthefind.com

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