Bureau Re-Fab!

First off, I want to say, I'm still at 4pounds. Only 18 to go in 21 days, I'm sticking to it!

James and I very quickly realized that we no longer have 2years to go, but am almost down to 1.5years! Crazy how time flies! Anyway, we really got down to business and got some things planned, we even chose our wedding venue and set our date!!! That's to come in a blog near you!

But to the point of this blog post:
When I moved back in with my parents, I quickly realized that my small bureau would not be enough for all my clothes/stuff. I needed a little more space, and was planning on buying a new bureau. I had a bureau I was going to throw out and never did, so my thrifty side came out and same with the nightstand, I realized I had a perfectly good piece of furniture that would do just the trick in my new, smaller space at my parents.

The lingerie chest was my aunt's, then got passed to me. Its been through a few moves, and a younger me who used to write my name on everything when I finally learned how to write. It's been through a lot and structurally is in good shape, but needed some sanding, paint and a lot of love.

Here are the before pictures of the lingerie chest, which I'll call a bureau, because I feel dirty saying lingerie that many times in a post:

*edge has a TON of dings in it

*The top of the bureau is lifting off and needs new screws

*Sorry Alladin, you can have your lamp back!



*NOTE: the staples holding the back of the bureau came loose, so it needed a few new ones


See what I mean? Structurally (for the most part) great! Looking a little dated, but still in great shape, and a ton cheaper than going out and buying a whole new bureau!

For the top, I put in a few new screws and staples and done! All set for the rest of the re-fab! Now the top had some sort of formica top, which is great for resisting scratches and stains, cause it's a counter top, but not my best friend to re-paint. I used sandpaper to rough it up, then more to smooth that out a little. Overall I probably did four coats to completely cover the top.

The drawer fronts were made out of particle board, so in some spots where there was water damage, or cracks, made it difficult to sand without ruining the drawer front. The sides were a piece of cake, thank God for normal wood. Now down to the legs.. as you saw, detailed. I popped off Alladin's lamp and sent the Genie away to live in my craft bag, so I can sit on that and maybe be Princess Jasmine for Halloween, or figure out something else to do with it.. OK done with my lamp raves (for now). The legs were made out of some sort of plasticky resin, so I lightly sanded and painted, they look great!

I painted the whole thing white, and wanted to do detail in blue and gray to match the nightstand. I was going to leave the sides white and do a gray stencil, probably the second worst idea I've ever had. It was horrendous. So then, why not try blue detail, PERFECT! The drawers stayed white, but that divider on each drawer turned blue and the detail on the top drawer was the lucky winner for the stencil!

I love it!! It now looks like the nightstand and bureau are siblings and sort of look like a matching set! Here's the reveal!

TIP: Know exactly the surfaces you have to work with, and get the proper supplies, it'll save tons of time. TIP: Stay confident and don't be afraid to take on a challenge, look at these two great pieces of furniture I now have that were going to end up in a dumpster somewhere! TIP: There's nothing a few coats of paint won't fix! TIP: Look realistically at your budget and see the ways you can save even a teensy bit.

A new bureau would have cost me around $50, but re-fabbing this one, was pretty much free! I already had the paint, stencil, screws and staples so all it took was my time, which was probably like 6hours combined.

Stay tuned, stay crafty and stay thrifty (it really pays off ;])