Furniture Makeover

The last couple of years, I wanted to redo our Amish-built armoire. It was one of those items on the to-do list that kept getting put off, month after month. The wood was driving me crazy the last couple of months, especially since it did not match the nightstands or this newly, redone dumpster-turned-treasure desk.

Since then, there has been one minor change to the desk. Do you see it? :) I found this adorable owl knob on clearance for $4.95 at Anthropologie and could not pass it up. Matt is not exactly thrilled with the new addition, but it seems to work quite nicely in our room.

Well on Sunday, I awoke wanting to paint the armoire. Don't ask me why, but perhaps it was due to working 18 of the last 20 days or the long winter, that made me crazy enough to tackle a home project on such short notice. I am also fairly certain that Matt was confused why I wanted to redo it that day of all days and out of the blue.

His only question, "Will the project be done in a week?"

I assured him it would and continued to empty the armoire, dumping clothes all over the guest room. While he watched the NCAA tournament games, I spent the afternoon painting down the hall and making a mess in the bedroom.

I forgot to take pictures of the piece before, but here are a few after I remembered that I had forgotten. My dear husband did help me move the dresser because it was much too large and heavy for me to move alone.

I used the same milk paint from the desk (MMS Milk Paint in Grain Sack) and mixed it in a mason jar as needed. It is easy to use, all-natural, dries quickly, and I love the look. The only thing I dislike is mixing it, but in my opinion, the pros outweigh the con, and thus the love for milk paint continues.

After two coats of milk paint, I put a layer of crackle medium on the doors and drawers. When it was tacky, another coat of paint was added on top. The crackle medium did not exactly do what I thought, so I'm going to try it again on the next project.

My favorite thing about this whole process is distressing! I don't know what it is, but I really enjoy running the spackle knife over the piece and letting the paint chip and flake off. It is so much fun, and I love the surprise and unpredictability that comes with not knowing how the paint is going to chip. Yes, shocking for a first-born to enjoy this step.

Then, I sealed it using a brush and a coat of hemp oil and waited 24 hours before putting a coat of clear antiquing wax over the entire piece for extra protection.

The following day, I put the original hardware back on. I don't mind the drawer pulls, but I do not care for the door handles. If you have any hardware suggestions, I would love to hear them!

I probably should have kept track, but I think this entire project took ~11 hours overall from start to finish. The master bedroom is a continual work in progress, but it is coming along.

Here's what it looked like back in 2011. It was very basic: a bed, some paint, and curtains.

Now it is feeling a little more lived in, and we are glad to have a dresser and desk to match the end tables.