Dresser Stresser and Foyer Woes. And I hate Target. ~ tammyfantasyland

So I was all excited about my Craigslist find last week. Let me just say this dresser has taken way more time and money that I want to admit. It has resulted in 2 trips to Lowe's (monumental waste of time) and 3 trips to Home Depot. And 4 trips to Target. Don't get me started on Target.

I read lots of decorator and DIY blogs before I started this process to figure out how to do this (no see, I didn't just jump into this blindly - for once!) and how to correct it when things weren't going as planned. Such as bubbling spray paint. Gunky hardware that had to be scraped clean and re-primed, re-painted, and re-sealed. Uneven spray paint. I managed to fix all my mistakes and move on. Did I mention I'm an instant-gratification girl and don't like to wait for spray paint to fully "cure"?

Well? I think I'm done with it. I want so badly to be DONE with it. But now the top is too "shiny" and it's really bothering me. I wanted to be done with it so desperately, that I had the Hubs haul it into the house with me tonight, and put it into it's new spot so I could admire it. But it bugs me.

So here is the fugly dresser BEFORE:

Isn't she a beauty? Lol...I removed the 2 missing handles. They are just as spectacular as the other 6.

My foyer, where it will be housed, is currently empty and looks like this:

Sad, right? And don't bring up the paint touch-up crap job I did on the left side. I might cry.

I've found lots of Pinspiration for ideas and was very excited to do something like this with my ugly duckling dresser:

image courtesy of aweemeenit.blogspot.com via Pinterest

image courtesy of classyclutter.blogspot.com via Pinterest

I knew I wanted a dark top that would have to be painted because even though I don't know jack about re-finishing wood, I'm pretty sure you can't refinish veneer. I'm smart like that ; ) So I wanted the piece to be two-toned, like the above examples. Dark on top, distressed off-white on bottome with cup pulls in a dark bronze color.

So here we go. The sanding process. Oh, how I love to sand....

The Priming process. I started out with a can primer that I rolled on. That sucked. So then I found some KILZ spray on primer and I liked my life much better.

And here is where I stopped taking pictures. It all went horribly awry after this. I spent an entire Friday night with my Blue Moon and my iPod working my tail off on this thing -- and inhaling way too many paint fumes -- only to run into problem after problem. Suffice it to say, I did a lot more painting, sanding, poly'ing after this point.

So here is my "AFTER": TA-DAAAA!

Don't mind the wonky handle/pull up in the top right - I fixed it.

I keep thinking I will haul it back out to the garage to fix the things I don't like....but that would involve stripping the top and then I think "huh...it's kinda not bad..." and am reminded of a great quote I saw on some blog saying "It doesn't have to be perfect! Just do it!"

I also get so distracted with the other zillion projects I want to start on. I embarked on an online rug search in the midst of this dresser project. Y'all....I'm not even exaggerating when I say I've looked at 5,000+ rugs online (hey, it's something quiet I can do while baby is napping). The problem is the size of our hall/foyer. It's 5 feet wide by like 14 feet long and runners don't typically come in that length. I've found some 10 and 12 feet lengths, which would work fine. But only 1 or 2 in the design I like.

And I know I said don't even get me started on Target right now, but I'm going to go there anyway because this is my blog and I can rant if I want to. They are on my shit list. I wanted 3 of these little mirrors from there:

I tried to order them online because they advertise "Free Shipping Over $50". That's a big. FAT. LIE. In teeny tiny print it says "on select items". Of course my mirrors aren't those "select items" and they want to charge me $25 shipping. RIDEEEEECULOUS.

So I go down to my local Tar-jay. They are sold out. I check online for nearby stores and there are some at the Florence store, so I drive there. I find ONE. I hop back online and find there are some at the Anderson store, so I drive there. They have ONE.

If you're keeping count, I now have two and I need three. So I voice my frustration to a "manager" (high school graduate at best who now gets to boss people around by telling them which lane to check out in -- is what that equates to). He was very unsympathetic and UNhelpful. I asked about shipping to my local store so I wouldn't have to keep driving all over the midwest. Oh no....they don't do that. Dude. I want to give you my money and buy your lousy mediocre-quality product. Help a girl out?

So I stew for a few days. Check the website again thinking maybe they've restocked them. Why not? They're selling out everywhere, right? Lo and Behold! The website tells me Florence has them "In Stock". I'm not thrilled with driving the 20 minutes back there again, but figure I can hit the Halloween Store and Hobby Lobby too, so I go. Whew, I'm finally gonna get to finish my tri-fecta o'pretty mirrors!!

WRONG. I get there and cannot find a single fa-reaking mirror. I'm beyond frustrated. I'm thinking about calling the company and throwing a huge hissy fit, but I think all the spray paint fumes have taken my spunk away.

I'll end with a positive little ray of sunshine. She might be scared of me after my Target frenzy....see how she's white-knucling the cart handle?