Recycled Furniture

This dresser belonged to one of my old roommates who was moving away and didn't want to keep her old dresser any longer. I wish I kept the before pictures (accidentally deleted them) but she had previously spray painted it white without sanding it so the finish was messy and quite uneven. Since she was basically throwing a way this great piece, I had to get my hands on the dresser to give it some life. Again, sorry I don't have the before and after pictures, but to give you a better idea it went from white paint, to being sanded down to pure wood, then a flat teal sample can of paint I bought that was made accidentally by Home Depot,(sometimes they accidentally make paint and will sell it at a very very cheap price). I am glad I did because it was definitely a score. I used a regular old paint brush that I had, so this project was fairly easy for me.It's surprising what you can do with an old piece of furniture, sander, and some paint.

    

My sister Carolina Gamez and I purchased this dresser off of craigslist for only $50 in Palm Springs! We bought it about a year ago right before I was off to Santa Monica for college and I was in need of some furniture for my very first apartment.  I don't like to spend a lot of money on furniture, and being a college student, I don't have the extra money to spend on brand new furniture. Brand new furniture can be very expensive to buy, so why spend all that money, when you can pick up something for half price if not free, and make it a brand new piece of furniture yourself! We bought this dresser along with a beautiful captain twin bed with storage for another $50! (such a score). The total for both pieces came out to $100 and I was ecstatic, a bed and a dresser for $100, talk about a steal! . The dresser before was plain brown wood with the same colored handles(in the pictures), my sister and I were obsessed with the handles so we just screwed them off and kept them the same. I adored the color of the spray paint as soon as I saw it on the shelf( I enjoy teals, mints, and blues), I think each can is a little over $3. For both my bed and the dresser I think we used at least 10-12 cans. You will need a good amount of paint to make sure everything is fairly even and smooth. We sanded both pieces for hours, primed, and painted, it was a long two days filled with many many breaks,(due to the desert heat) but in the end, it was completely worth it. I fell in love with my furniture!  Also, not to mention, I really do prefer this dresser over a plain, brand new, and costly piece that ultimately just blends in with the rest of the room, and is served as storage versus a statement piece that can brighten up or add detail to any room. Refurbishing a piece of furniture gives you the chance to create your own piece, something that you envision and love, you get to be the artist! You can paint your piece any color and do whatever you want with it. There is also no greater feeling then walking past your finished piece and seeing all the time and detail you put into it. You feel proud that you can recycle a piece that was lifeless and now it has life, color, and detail!  It may seem like a lot of time and work but if you want something that looks good, and don't want to spend the money, then what are you waiting for?!