Heirloom White Dresser

One of the perks to having a living room with only a dresser and secretary desk is that they can be rearranged over and over. I felt so inspired after painting what used to be the brown wall grey, that I played around with decorating the one lone surface of the dresser. This room is the first room you walk into from the front door, and even though we don't hang out on sofas in here yet, we still like to have a place to drop our keys and "land" in a sense before traipsing through to the rest of the house after a day of work. That, and we do spend quite a bit of time on the floor. I had forgotten how nice it is to sprawl out on carpet. But anyways, like I was saying, having a place to catch all our odds and ends became the purpose of this little white dresser's table top as I rearranged things today. (Also, how much better does that wall look? SO MUCH better!)

The dresser was actually a hand me down from my cousin Natalie. They recently moved and hadn't a need for it anymore. Its been in our family for years, so it only makes perfect sense to keep it as so! She actually painted it white the summer I first moved to Colorado. We spread out in her front yard painting, sanding, and painting. (And sanding, sanding, sanding for what seemed like a millennium.) Somehow, the memories of sanding furniture seem to stand out the most (perhaps because those are the most brutal DIYs?) Anyhow, she has twin taste to me, so it basically works out to pass anything and everything on to each other. Natalie is also the one who told me to paint my walls Sherwin Williams Agreeable Grey in Eggshell. Having cousins who are wonderful friends AND wonderful decorators is too good to be true.

Even in an empty room, there are always small and simple ways to decorate even just a portion, without having to spend a ton of money. Besides the dresser being second hand, the lamp, wooden tray, and frame were all on sale from Target. The books were thrifted, the yellow runner are actually placemats on sale from Anthropologie, and the framed "Hello" print a card I saved that was sent to me in the mail. It's all about saving little bits and pieces that you find while running your errands, cleaning out your closet, or thrifting. In the end, they all come together to make your home uniquely you :) That's the beauty of decorating.

(*The wall in the first photograph/the far left wall seen in the second photograph is the only one that's been painted grey so far. The other walls are a khaki color that the previous owners painted).

Two Dressers, Lamps, and a Bed | Before

This is where you'll find me catching up on Downton Abbey on flake out Friday, or from 5:00 - 6:00 a.m. hitting snooze, or sipping my early morning coffee on those days I work later.  Our bedroom! The camera died about halfway through shooting our room, so this is really only part of the space. I know, I'm sorry! To the right of the bed are two windows, which are brilliant - literally. They give of so much light, and I intend to embrace that fully, you know, harness that clean and bright feel with crisp white window linens and such. And to the left of the wide dresser is the bathroom. Consider this an official before post (even if it's a halfsie). Half of the things in this room are old, thrifted, or waiting to be refurbished. Can you figure out which is which? There are a handful of Target and West Elm finds in here to. A gold star to the most correct guesses!

Oh and P.S. Went to Ikea today, and walked out a happy lady with the perfect pendant lamp. 

Drawer Pull Tease

When I first decided to redo Matt's tall dresser, the snow came. The second time I bought the materials to strip and sand it, the rain arrived. And now with my third plans to get this dresser done, the 100 year storm turned Colorado upside down for a bit. So, I'm not sure exactly when this dresser will be done, but for now the pretty pulls I bought over a year ago are really just a tease until that diy day finally arrives. 

Tiered Dresser

Along with building a planter box this weekend, I had plans to strip and paint Matt's dresser. A lack of energy and a chest cold kept me mostly lounging and reading, though...so the repaint did not happen. At least it gives me more time to decide on a paint color. What do you think--an oil based grey?

The dresser needs some major attention. Those scratches are an eye-sore and I am not a fan of the drawer pulls. I cannot wait to switch out the pulls with these handles I got on sale from Anthropologie nearly a year ago--about time, right?!

Treasury Edition No. 2: Budvase, reflection, entryways, and dumpster dives.

This is a new series added to the blog, with the original treasury idea inspired by Etsy (where items of a similar theme would be put together for a mini collection of sorts). This is a collection of frugal finds, home design, affordable style, and other splendid bits and pieces from readers like you. If you missed the first treasury, meander over here. Enjoy!

My blue ceramic treasure: This Dutch Delft budvase I found at a consignment store that was going out of business. Originally it was a gift for my Grandma, and now it holds a handful of flowers in my home. It cost $5 and was made in Holland.

Natalie is one of those women who has classy style in her bones. And she is amazing at navigating the wide world of Craigslist. Lucky for us, she is sharing a few of her most recent frugal finds. Natalie found the oval mirror at the Goodwill for only $5. She painted the frame gold to spruce it up a bit. It adds some splendid character to her basement guest room. Next, the dresser was a furniture piece from Natalie's parents. After the piece was hidden down in her basement, Natalie decided to give it new life. With some sanding (oh how we all love this part of refurbishing), white paint, and a new spot in her entryway, this repurposed dresser looks so put together. To accent the design, Natalie painted the lamp shade black. I love this look! (If only I had more photos to show you her entire living room. It is black, white, and classy perfection.) Lastly, this is by no means a new one for the record books, searching for treasure by literally diving, yes, into a dumpster. But, when you get something great like this pedastool side table, completely free? Cannot beat that. Let's dumpster dive more often, shall we? Just wash up properly afterwards and sanitize the bajeebies out of it.

Treasuries are made possible by you! If you would like to be a part of the next collection, email me or read more about guest postings here. 

Dresser in the making.

When we moved to Denver, we left some furniture behind. One of the pieces we left was Matt's dresser, which was a freebie from a neighbor that I had just changed the knobs out on to make it somewhat appealing. The drawers never slid gracefully, it was black laminate, and it was just a mess, so we decided to ditch it with hopes of one day finding a better but yet still affordable "new" old dresser. In the meantime, the Expedit shelf from Ikea became, yet, another multi functioning furniture piece. This shelf has seen us through as a behind the couch entryway shelf, part of our office desk unit (when combined with the Ikea L shape table top), as home made wall wardrobe, and for basket drawer storage. It even survived, (dare I say it?) bedbugs. I wish I had more photos to show you all the ways it functioned, but that was before my days of blogging with a mac and having a trusty cannon to document. So use your imagination.

The expedit as behind the couch storage.

Up until two days ago, the Expedit sat against the wall opposite our bed. It was ho hum, not fully going with the feel of the room which is more vintage and less Ikea, but I could wake up and look at it without quickly wanting to close my eyes, which is all that mattered until we found a better dresser. The wall it sat on is not very wide, and the depth from the edge of our bed to the wall is constricting, so tall and thin was the optimal furniture piece for this arrangement. Also, with a wide and deep dresser on the other wall, my hopes to find tall versus short was a must.

  First room arrangement:

Yet again, Goodwill Denver to the rescue! I stopped by to drop off a donation of things we did not need after unpacking moving boxes about a week ago. And lucky for me I stepped into the store for a quick browse, since I was there anyways (And its in my blood, I tell you), and found the dresser I had been hoping for! It is tiered, made in Los Angeles, and appears to be vintage (yet, there is no date stamped on the wood, so I need to look into it). The size was more than perfect and it was in overall really great condition, with clean sliding draws to boot. Aside from needing a complete makeover, not too bad, right? The shape and size is the most important, everything else can be changed. I've already ordered these dresser pulls, have plans to start sanding this lovely to the core, and paint it! It really is such a better feel than the Ikea Expedit (although, shelf, you have been so loyal!) The gold mirror with the laced up stitching border was also a Goodwill find. I think it is so cute. 

Second room arrangement:

Inspirations for the redo:

Photo Credit

Photo Credit

Photo Credit

Photo Credit

Photo Credit

I am still deciding whether I go with the worn painted look or stain the wood darker and go a little more industrial. I do love the cobalt and feel most compelled and drawn in by that color. And, how pretty is that hand painted drawer? Maybe I'll even go for a mix of the elements. Knowing me, it will be a day of the project decision. What are your color suggestions for this dresser knowing the feel of our bedroom? 

My bedroom tour.

Before the boxes arrived our bedroom looked like this.

Still a work in progress (the walls still need significant help), our room is beginning to look like this.

Still needing some curtains. I'm waiting for a bargain.

Sale pillows: PB polkadot, West elm king shams in cacoon print

Ikea Euro sham.

Matt's nightstand: Table from UO, Ikea glass sea foam lamp

Bedframe: Living spaces

Makeshift dresser until I thrift find a tall one for this space.

Ikea Hamper.

  

My grandma's vintage dresser. 

This was a red tag lamp at HomeGoods. One of my favorite finds.

Comb plate, West elm, $2. My bridesmaids on our wedding day.

Framed: The boutonnière Matt wore on our wedding day.

The books on my dresser are shades of red and mint to aqua. I felt the color combo complimented the other accessories.

Baby me, with my dad, soaking up that California sunshine.

DIY jewelry cabinet.

UO rug find:$10. Origianlly $$$$$. 

Instead of a side table I have a side dog bed. I plan to take an old quilt I have and make a duvet cover type thing to go over her bed. That way it is functional yet eye catching and pretty.


What makes your bedroom comfortable, functional, and uniquely you?