Nightstand for a World Traveler

 

I decided that it was time for our oldest son to try waking himself up for school in the mornings.  The problem was, he had no place to put an alarm clock as the bookshelf that sits next to his bed was too high for him to reach.  I'd found this old, feminine looking nightstand and decided I'd try to work a little magic with it.

 I forgot to take a true before picture of the entire piece, but there were flowers painted on the drawers (which would NOT be okay with this guy)!

I've been experimenting with the many home recipes for ASCP, and what I had on hand this time was powdered unsanded grout.  I mixed it with a wall paint we had leftover that was a green/tan color.  I primed and painted and at first I loved the color and thought it went on pretty smoothly.  Then I freaked out when it was dry because it was so rough.  I sanded and sanded and sanded and sanded.

  And this is the finished product!  I think it turned out really well, but it's much more chippy and distressed than I would typically like.  But he loves it and it works perfectly in the room!

His room is decorated with globes and old maps and I thought these adorable compass pulls would be the perfect finishing touch for the nightstand.

I also Mod Podge'd some pages from an old atlas inside the drawers.

Then I repainted a trunk for the foot of his bed.

With a new comforter/duvet for the bed the room will be complete.  I think it says "World Traveler" without screaming "I'm a theme room"! What do you think?

I linked up here:

Furniture Love - Girlie Rose Back Chairs

As much as I enjoy being crafty, I realize that I love furniture transformations far more! 

Crafty Cork letter

Crafty Diaper Cake (circa 2007, I thought it was pretty cute back then!)

Mirror before and after

 
SO, I took advantage of some mild weather this weekend to get moving on a few pieces of furniture that have been waiting patiently.

These rose back chairs were inexpensive Craigslist finds, but they were pretty and had potential!

The roses and curvy legs are so feminine, they just were screaming for some pink!

I started off by reupholstering the seats with canvas drop-cloth.  (Yes, I said it, a drop cloth!  It's canvas, it's pretty, it's easy to work with and softer than burlap.  Do NOT share this secret, or the guys at the orange store will just start charging more for it!)
I found this original needlepoint rose fabric under the top layer.

After reupholstering, I added a little color with fabric paint and a stencil.

I brewed up a little homemade chalk paint using the following recipe:

1 1/2 Cups latex paint

1/2 Cup water

1/2 Cup calcium carbonate (ordered online - it's just powdered chalk)
I used an old pasta sauce jar and shook it up really well.  This is the perfect way to paint furniture if you plan to distress it at all.  It covers everything, doesn't require priming and dries really fast!!

Thanks to Sherry at No Minimalist Here for the recipe!

Just for good measure, I used two coats of white paint and then painted the roses with pink craft paint.  The pink originally felt too bright, so I watered down a bit more of the white chalk paint (making it really milky) and painted over the roses.

Once the paint was dry, I distressed lightly, and glazed with Valspar Mocha glaze.  I love the way the carved details stand out!

Notice the little distress mark on the left side?  This same mark is on both chairs.  I think it must be where the chairs were pushed into the table over and over in their former life.  Can you picture it?  Sorry to get sappy, but something about making that connection just fills me up.

Voila!

I'm really pleased with these!  They seem perfect for a girls' room (which doesn't exist in my home!)  What do you think of the transformation?

One more before and after...

I was featured here!!!!!



These pretty girls are partying here: