Projects

I love the smell of varnish in the morning...

Well, kinda.

I figured last week, since I probably wasn't going to work very much, I had my husband carry in the old antique dresser thing I've been working on for the last few years months.  I bought this thing for $40.00 about 5 years ago.  It was in our guest bedroom in the basement in our first house, in the garage being stripped of the ugly brown paint it had on it for our second house, and in the garage in this house too.  It's the project that never got finished...

When I saw it, I fell in love with it, but was baffled on why anyone would paint such a unique piece brown... so I stripped it (note: if you strip brown paint off with chemicals in your driveway, your driveway will have splotches of brown, and your husband will NOT be happy!).  Then I discovered why... because the wood is UGLY!  Nonetheless, it was stripped, and so I decided to stain it a dark espresso.  It has some intricate parts, so the sanding became my nightmare, and I only worked on it occasionally whenever I had a burst of energy.  It was very unstable, and so I didn't ever know if it would be a 'useful' piece of furniture.

When I was working on my night stand with my friend (who has a degree in this stuff), she put little triangles on the back to square it all up.  Amazing, NO MORE WIGGLING!!!  I know figured I had a more solid piece of furniture, and decided it would be in our baby's room a few months ago, right around we were getting ready for our home study.  So I stained it.... and so it's sat.

I needed to varnish it, but now it's gotten way to cold to do it in the garage (a-for me to be out there, b- for the varnish to cure (or dry or whatever it's called).

Last night Trav agreed to bring it in on some black plastic so I can do it in the kitchen (he's excited to get that many square feet back in his garage!).  It really is in the middle of EVERYTHING, and so he knew that would FORCE me to get it done...

I put the first coat on it last night, sanded it with 220grit sand paper this morning and just finished the second coat.  I think It'll take two or three more coats, and then it will be ready.  I'm planning on putting one of those curved changing mats on it, since I can tilt the mirror so he can see himself when I'm changing him. 

But for now, there will be no cooking (or cleaning, you can't open the dishwasher either!).

***update****
Apparently, life still goes on even if you have a huge project going on in the kitchen... cooking is still expected to be done, and there are dishes to be cleaned...

BUT- with the impending birth, there is a bit more pressure, so the last coat will go on today, I sanded it with the steel wool and then it will be done, ready for a changing pad to be put on it, to change our little stinker.