Texas Wood 2 Wonder

Some curbside trash turned into bedroom treasure. Required drawer repair, sanding, painting and a clear coat of varnish.

This dated dresser becomes a black beauty with a classic update of gloss black paint and gold sprayed pulls. This is the first furniture flip since moving from Texas to Indiana.

Updated these nightstands by removing the outdated trim on the top while painting black and spraying pulls a hammered pewter.

This dresser was all woodgrain in a very outdated style. I sanded everything. Painted the base black. Used a woodburning technique on the top and drawers. Painted the pulls black. For a Rustic dresser style.

This vintage piece needed some updating. Removed the mirror. Sanded everything. Painted the base black and whitewashed the drawer fronts. Added glass pulls. I always hate to change such a beautiful vintage piece of furniture. But tastes and styles change. Better to update than it end up in the trash.

Half-day desk to nightstands project.
This is a real wood desk. So, I was able to cut the top to the correct width and sand a rounded edge. I sanded the drawer fronts to discover this antiqued patina and painted the bases black. Sprayed the pulls antique pewter and reassembled. A beautiful project with half the day left to spare.

Rolltop desk to nightstands project. Found a real wood desk at the local thrift shop. Removed the roll top. Filled all holes and sanded. New stain and poly on the drawers. Black paint for the base. Quite the transformation.

One of yesterday's projects.
Found this 3 drawer chest out for trash.
No feet and no pulls with split drawer faces.
I fixed the splits and built a new base and feet.
Painted in all black and added some pulls from a previous cabinet projects.
From trash to class in just one day.

Before & After: Black paint on top and base. Sanded and whitewashed drawer fronts. Drawer edges and pulls sprayed pewter. Quite a transformation.

Two desk to nighstands projects. Both picked up at the same Goodwill in a town where I was picking up a free dresser. My total for both desks was $45. I used my mix of gray mistint paints and pewter spray paint for the pulls for no additional cost.

Quite a bit of work on this one-day project. Had to build a new bottom for one of the front decorative legs that had broken off. Took a while to get all the loose veneer off the top. Replaced button plugs and holes where they were missing with dowels sawn flush. Filled any gouges and scratches. Gave it all two coats of a classy gray paint and sprayed the pulls an antique pewter. Great result on a quality real wood vintage chest of drawers.

Great result from this Goodwill find. Bulky and out of style, this chest of drawers had very little damage and all original hardware. I removed the chipped veneer from the bottom platform. The drawers and pulls were painted with a Rustoleum bright shiny gold spray. The base was first covered in a high quality light colored paint as a primer coat. This made it easier to insure that the black semi-gloss Rustoleum which I brushed on covered completely. A few drawers had to be glued and clamped with a guide rail added to one bottom. An elegant and stylish new life for an out-of-date old piece of furniture.

Nobody wants a huge entertainment center anymore. But everyone needs a dresser for their bedroom. So, I removed the top (to be used in an upcoming project) and painted the top, bottom and legs black leaving the rest the original woodgrain.

Two projects completed today. First was a set of (previously glass top) endtables. I put in a strong piece of wood to replace the fragile glass. Removed the dated metal trim. Filled any gaps and painted a blue-gray. The second project was repurposing a dresser top mirror as a wall hanging shelf. I flipped the small shelves upside down and added a top shelf from an old rolltop desk. And painted in the same blue-gray to match the endtables. What do you think?

Just a little repair and paint puts this tuxedo style dresser back in commission for years to come.

Today's dresser makeover. A modified tuxedo finish. Also doubles for an entertainment center with shelves (and rear holes) for electronics.

Today's project. Donated dresser from a neighbor. Was scratched up on top and very bottom. Sanded and painted those areas with a semi-gloss black leaving the drawers and sides the original finish. I thought it was missing one pull, but I found it when I took the drawers out. Beautiful result is a classy tuxedo style dresser. A fairly simple one day project.

Two chests of drawers projects today.
The first is a $25 purchase from right here in town. It is solid wood, but had some children added magic marker labeling as seen in the before photo. I sanded and painted it a blue-gray color that was a $10 Home Depot mistint gallon and spray painted the pulls bright gold. Total cost of approximately $35 and probably 4 hours of work. The second is one of 3 furniture pieces kindly donated by a neighbor. I filled a hole in the side with scrap wood and filler. I liked the rustic look. So, I opted to use the propane torch to accentuate the woodgrain. But to add a touch of class, I painted the side and drawer insets. The pulls that I sprayed a hammered pewter are from a previous dresser project.

Started these yesterday. Weather forced me to finish today. It was supposed to be a one day project. $10 scratched up desk to stylish nighstands in less than 24 hours.

Before & After Buffet.
This took a long time. Mostly figuring out how to recreate the missing pull. Gold accents were done with spray paint because of the detailed wood carving. The base and drawers were then painted with a high quality Rustoleum semi-gloss black paint. Pull was recreated by pouring melted solder into a casting sand mold. Not perfect, but I am pleased with the result.

Small cabinet/shelf made from curve front drawers, scrap wood and glass pulls. Next time, I will leave more room between drawers to make reaching in easier.

Free rolltop desk to nighstands project. Pulled the top off. Cut out the middle of the desk. Sanded the cut edges to match the rounded trim. Patched any holes with wood filler. Sanded and painted top and sides black. Left the front the original oak finish. About a one day project completed over 3 days while working on other projects.

The transformation of a falling apart pressboard chest into a (mostly) real wood chest of drawers. Used free scrap wood that I picked up previously, some wood filler, and paint. This dresser should easily last several more years now.

A quick morning project. Sometimes you can just see all the pieces fitting together in your head. A headboard and footboard combo out for trash. I cut the legs off the footboard to make it the seat. Using wood salvaged from other discarded furniture, I made bracing and front legs. Some left-over dowel rods filled the pre-drilled screw holes. A little stain evened out any irregularities in color and it was all fastened together with metal roofing screws from a roofing project in Bishop, TX a few years back.

I love desks, but they just aren't what most people are wanting these days. So, I take desks that no one wants and convert them into nightstands that are much in demand. It makes for a nice conversion because this makes for deeper and taller nightstands than are typically found in stores. Here is one of those conversions.