Master Bedroom Dresser Reveal

Wow.  What a weekend.  We made tons of progress in the bathroom.  It is starting to look like a bathroom again and less like a construction zone!  I'll have pictures and info about the bathroom on Friday or you can go to Facebook and Instagram to see some progress pics.  Today, I am going to show you our new dresser.

When we started the master bath renovation I decided to give our master bedroom a mini makeover.  The decor and color were never right for me.  Everything I used we previously owned or was handed down when we moved.  It was a weird mix of stuff that didn't work in the space or for us.  I painted the bedroom Pale Smoke by Benjamin Moore which coordinated well with our bedding.  I hated it.  From the first day it was on the wall, I didn't love it.  Unfortunately, there was no time to repaint the room then.  We were in the middle of unpacking, painting other rooms, and doing the kitchen renovation.  The master would have to wait.  See the first Master Bedroom Revel here.

So over the past few years I have been thinking about bedding color, furniture style and other decor details for the room.  I had an idea for furniture but I try not to get my mind set on something specific because it is not always in budget or available.  Mostly I needed pieces that had tons of storage.  A dresser that is at least 70 inches long that can hold much more than our current dresser.

Current Dresser.

My mom found this large dresser at a garage sale.

Does it look familiar?  It should.  It is the exact same dresser that my grandparent's had and I now use as a coffee bar!

Same company.  Same material.  Same dresser.  For this makeover I wanted a natural driftwood finish.  Something similar to these tables I did for my sister-in-law.  Pine can be hard to work with sometimes.  It wants to be really dark or really light so I knew a natural driftwood look might be challenging.  And it was.  So much so, that it didn't happen.  The driftwood stain didn't even change the color.  Not going to lie, I was disappointed but not shocked by this.

Plan B was the weathered wood look.  I tend to like driftwood better because I am drawn to the brown tones.  A weathered wood finish had me nervous because of all the gray tones and I wasn't sure I liked it at first.  Now the walls have their new color, we have new bedding and curtains, as well as new end tables.  It is all coming together and I love it.

Here are a few more before shots.

For this finished I used Rust-Oleum Weathered Gray stain for the first coat.  I let it dry over night then I distressed the wood.  I used 220 grit to lightly sand, focusing on the edges.  The last color coat was a white glaze (a glazing medium + antique white latex paint).  Finally, the clear coats.

The coffee bar has the original hardware but I wanted to do new for this makeover.  Something much more updated and sleek.  Hole size was a problem (as always) so I went with these soft iron colored handles.  It required drilling all new holes but they cover up the old ones.   :)

It has been great having such a large dresser.  The storage space is amazing and I finally have a home for my folded clothes.  Obviously I still need to add some decor on this wall (notice the new paint color) and a few things on top of the dresser but all of that will be shown in the room reveal.

Check back tomorrow to see our end tables!




Monday - Inspire Me Monday (Sand & Sisal,  My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Domestically Speaking, Sweet C’s Designs)  Made by you Monday (Skip To My Lou)

Tuesday -  Show and Share (Coastal Charm), From Dream to Reality (The DIY Dreamer), Show and Tell (Sugar Bee Crafts)

Wednesday:Wow Us Wednesday (Savvy Southern Style),  Be You tiful (Art is Beauty)  Wednesday Before and After (The Dedicated House) Work It Wednesday (The Blissful Bee, The Turquoise Home,  The Happy Housie, A Place of My Taste) 

Thursday: What To Do Weekends (Crafts ala Mode ),  The Best DIY Party at the Handmade Hangout (A Glimpse Inside, Christina’s Adventures, From Gardners to Bergers, Redoux Interiors, Too Much Time on My Hands), Creativity Unleashed (Practically Functional, Shaken Together, One Project Closer, The Bold Abode, and The DIY Village)

Friday:  The Party Bunch (The Idea Room, 30 Handmade Days, Whipperberry, The 36th Avenue),  Creativity Unleashed (Practically Functional, Shaken Together, One Project Closer, The Bold Abode)  Fabulously Creative Friday (Jennifer Rizzo Blog), Friday Furniture Fix (Thirty Eighth Street, Patina Paradise, 58 Water Street, Anastasia Vintage, Slightly Coastal)

Purple & Grey Nursery Furniture

I have a great furniture makeover to share!  These pieces were delivered at Thanksgiving and now the nursery is set up and that sweet baby is here.

The client found the dresser at an estate sale and the bed was hers when she was a baby.  The bookcase some how did not get a before picture but I did paint it too.  It was built by one of her friends.  They are heavy, solid wood, and in great shape.  She chose a finish I have never done before and I love it!

Before:

Painted Gray with Glazed Furniture

Hi all.  I hope every one is having a great week.

Over the weekend, I worked both Saturday and Sunday and I took Monday off.  My parents needed a ride to the airport for their big move to Germany, so I dropped them off then, spent the rest of the day with my best friend and her family.  They live about an hour from my house but only a few minutes from the airport.  We spent the afternoon out on their boat swimming and tubing.  I haven't been pulled on a tube in at least 10 years.  My friend and I were pulled on the tub and we laughed hysterically the entire time.  So much fun and a little frightening.

Gorgeous Painted & Glazed Buffet

Hi all!  I hope you are having a great week.  I am feeling so much better and have been extremely productive on the blog the past few days.  Be sure to check out my new "Portfolio" page.

Duncan Phyfe Style Buffet

Hello, all!  I know its been a while.  Sorry.  Things have been busy but I didn't finish a project to post last week therefore I had nothing to blog about.  And if I am being totally honest, the freakishly cold weather got the best of me and I have been hibernating a little.

This week, I have several things to show you!  First, some housekeeping stuff.  If you follow me on Facebook you saw me post this picture.

Painted, Distressed, Glazed Dresser & End Tables

It is ridiculously cold again.  Ugh!  I am ready to migrate farther South.  My productivity depends on the weather and not being able to get as much done as I would like, is irritating.  Plus, I like being outside, working on pieces in the driveway and be able to open the shop up but I can't do that with these ridiculous temperatures and north wind.  Yikes.  This really has been one of the coldest winters I can remember.  It hasn't let up and I think I might be going crazy from it,  Is that possible?  Going crazy from cold weather?

Even with the bad weather the past few weeks, I was able to stay on schedule with the next project.  A beautiful Ethan Allen dresser and end tables were brought to me for a face lift.  The pieces were in great condition and were pretty as is, but looked a little dated.  The client wanted them refinished to look like my grandmother's dresser that I use as a buffet.  These were perfect for this type of transformation.  The dresser and end tables have beautiful details and edges for the glaze to highlight.  I love this makeover.

Before:

Drexel China Cabinet Makeover

Happy Wednesday!

Oh my, it's been cold!  This Texas girl can not handle it.  Lows in the 20s and only getting to the low 40s for a high is unbearable to me.  When I am cold my body gets tense and starts to hurt.  My friends give me a hard time for carrying a jacket with me everywhere I go, even in the summer.  I grew up in Southeast Texas (Beaumont area) and now live near Galveston and that is as far north as I can go.  My friends and I joke that we will never live north of I-10...silly Texans.  But seriously, for those of you who are enduring crazy low temps and just unbelievable wind chills, I hope y'all are staying warm and safe.

So because of my cold (illness) last week and the cold (weather) over the weekend and on Monday, I have been playing catch up the last few days trying to get some big projects finished up.  Remember a few months ago, I found 3 amazing Drexel bow front pieces.  If you don't remember, you can read about it here.  Today, I am going to show you the Drexel China Cabinet!

FWF's Year Review - 2013

What a difference a year makes.  This has been a huge year for Fisherman's Wife Furniture and for me personally.  This marks one full year out of the classroom and being a full time business owner.  Somedays I still can't believe it and I am waiting for someone to come take it all away.

Over the past few months, many new followers and readers have come along so I want to do a quick review of my favorite and/or most popular posts from 2013.

Updates and Some Exciting News!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I hope everyone is having a great day!  I have many, many, many things to be thankful for every day.  Today I am especially thankful BLittle, the dogs and I get to eat lunch with my family,  my dad's fried turkey, and my mom's mini pecan pies.  I am thankful my bootcamp instructor inspired me to work out the past 3 days like a crazy lady so I can enjoy all those wonderful foods guilt free :)

Things have been really quiet on the blog the past few weeks and I apologize for that.  The weather here was super cold and rainy and when the rain stopped it stayed super cold.  This Texas girl HATES cold!  We are installing an AC/heater in the shop soon so I can stay warm while working and it will keep the temperature high enough for me to paint.  Did y'all know if its too cold, paint does some weird things?!  I am using that as my excuse for not being productive but if I am being honest, I am really just a baby when it comes to being cold.  I am looking forward to the slightly warmer temps next week and the heater in the shop.  I can't wait to show y'all some of the projects I have been working on.  Remember the Drexel, Bow Front pieces I told y'all about?!  Their new looks are in progress! So excited!

1 Year Blogiversary

Happy Birthday, Blog!

I can't beleive it has been a year already.  So much has happened and changed in our lives in the past 12 months.  Most mornings I wake up in denial that this is my life.  One short year ago, I was living in New Orleans, teaching high school geometry and refinishing furniture at night and on the weekends.   Now, we are back in Texas and I live in a great little waterfront house (has been our goal since we got married), I am my own boss and I am working from home.  Wow.  I might be the luckiest girl in the world.

A Few Updates

So, some how its been over 3 weeks since my last post.  Time flies when you are super busy!  Things have been crazy around here lately.  So crazy I really haven't bothered to take many before pictures or good quality afters.  Here is a quick overview of what I have been up to over the past few weeks.

 One client brought by this family piece and a bench that was made from an old bed.

Before

Before

After

After

I bought this dresser a while back and finally had time to work on it.

Before

After

After

After

Remember this dresser?

It was purchased for a baby girl nursery.  The client already had a creamy, distressed, glazed mirror and wanted her other nursery furniture refinished to match.  She had purchased a bookcase on Craigslist and ordered a Jenny Lind baby bed in white.  Now they both match the mirror and coordinate with the dresser.  It is going to be a super cute nursery!

Here is a desk that I refinished for a friend.  It is a family piece they wanted painted to match the beds in their girls' room.

Before

Before

Before

After

After

After

After

And another little project.  I have been working on changing this beautiful dresser into an entertainment center.  It already had a drawer front cut off by the previous owner.  She had started the project and couldn't finish so she contacted me to see if I could do something with it.  Since one drawer front was cut off, I couldn't use it as a dresser so I figured I'd stick with the entertainment center idea.  The dresser is solid wood (SUPER HEAVY) and has gorgeous lines.  I love it.  They do not make pieces like this anymore. I will post after pictures in the next few days.

I have been busy with several other things but they are not ready for posting.  Did I mention how busy the past few weeks have been?  On top of all of this, we went home to Texas this past weekend to watch my brother's girlfriend graduate with her Master's degree.  What an accomplishment!  So proud and excited for her. 

I will have the entertainment center finished in the next few days and will post a picture of it as soon as possible.   I hope everyone has a wonderful week and safe Memorial day weekend!

Custom Dresser B&A

Hi all.  Even with the humidity this week, I finished up a custom dresser.  This is a client piece that was purchased at a resale shop several years ago.  Dressers like this are hard to find and finding them in a resale shop really never happens.  Here are a few before pictures:

Isn't it gorgeous?!?!  Solid wood top.  Solid wood curved drawers.  Pretty handles.  Just lovely.

Lets talk about handles for a minutes.  Looking at these handles one would think they will have to be painted to be salvaged but if you ever come across a solid wood, quality old dresser like this, there is a good chance the handles are solid brass.  To check use a magnet from your refridgerator.  Brass is non magnetic so if your magnet does not stick to the handle, it might be solid brass.  I use Brasso to polish brass.  If just wiping the handles with Brasso doesn't help try paint stripper on them or some other paint remover.  A lot of times the handles have been clear coated or painted in the past so that has to be stripped off before polishing will work.  These handles looked kind of gross up close. 

Years of tarnish had covered up everything shiny and pretty about them.  After I confirmed they were not magnetic I was positive they were solid brass.  I stripped the clear coat off then polished them and this is the end result.

Can you believe?!  They are so beautiful!  So glad I know how to identify brass and I didn't paint them!

Now on to the rest of the makeover.  The dresser went from having beautiful shape and curves with blah paint and yucky handles to looking glamorous and rich.  I LOVE IT!  More importantly though, my client loves it which makes me extremely happy.  Here are the after photos:

So pretty!  I love makeovers like this.  I love bringing pieces like this back to life.  Hopefully it will be a treasured piece for a long time.

Grey and White Dresser

I really didn't know what to title this post so I went with how I feel.  I love how this dresser turned out!

Dressers are always a popular request.  In the past few weeks I have come across several great ones and have had a lot of fun giving them new looks and new homes.  Last week, I had a customer come in to look at some dressers I had available and neither really worked for her.  So I put her on my shopping list to find her a dresser with better dimensions and then refinish it custom for her.  Luckily the next day I found the perfect piece and got to work! (If that could only happen every time!) The dresser was blah brown and dirty when I bought it but I could see past all of that.  It is Dixie, solid wood, and sturdy and they don't come much better than that.  Here are some before pictures:

Love seeing this stamp!

The top was in decent condition which is always a plus.

Solid wood drawers with dove tail joints.  Perfect!

 My client wanted something that would coordinate with her current bedroom furniture...something with soft white and grey.  Here are the afters:

Grey stained top.

LOVE!

 The final product is so light and pretty especially compared to that blah brown I started with.  This beauty was picked up today and is already set up!

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE.  I love seeing my pieces when they are in their new home and I love having a happy client!

SIDE NOTE:  This dresser has a matching end table that my client did not want.  Here is the before and after for it.