UPDATE: We've Started a Project FINISHED

Last year I shared how we were undergoing changes with furnishings.  Little did I realize that the post has been viewed almost 4,000 times, thank you Pinterest.  Well here's our update!Quick flashback:Found beautiful piece of furniture for bedroom (no room)New carpeting meant new arrangement in Den.Old dresser to be changed into TV cabinetWhich ultimately meant:New refinished furniture in bedroom.This is where we left off:

Wish I had taken a before picture with the drawers.

Our original plan was to white wash the dresser, like I said original.  After much debate we really couldn't decide what to do beyond buying more baskets at the Container Store.  So we moved onto the old/new dresser for our bedroom.  That was a bit bigger project than we realized as the wood really needed some TLC. As with the TV/dresser we thought we had our color planned but after a trial run we trashed that quickly.  After buying 6 different paints at Hobby Lobby and mixing to find the right color I had Lowes mix our paint up.  I love the chalk paint finish however the first recipe I used created a very textured finish and have removed that recipe from my board.  We decided to keep the textured look

 on the drawers but used a smoother recipe on the frame.  The handles are brass and took HOURS to clean but were so worth it.  I made a paste of baking soda,vinegar and salt.  I let the paste set for almost an hour and then used a toothbrush to get into all of the grooves.  The recipe that wound up working best was

 1c vinegar

3/4 c baking soda

 1/4 c salt

  It was thick enough that when I applied it to the handles it didn't drip off. I'll admit as time wore on I wasn't exact in measuring, I did have 11 to clean after all.

We're quite happy with the finished product:

 

With one cabinet done I was determined to finish the TV dresser.  After much hunting around furniture stores we found and duplicated a color.  Here's our new TV Dresser:

The best chalk paint recipe I found was this:

1 Qt Paint

1/2 c Plaster of Paris

1/2 c Hot Water

Mix PoP and Water well then add to paint.  It is best to mix up only enough paint you'll use as it can dry/tighten up quickly

I just saw a new recipe using spackle ~ hmmm might try that on my next project:

Old discarded desk found on trash day will hopefully be new bedside table

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