Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Campaign Dresser Make-Over

Our old TV stand got totally crushed in the move from California. Pretty much every piece of furniture got dinged up a little bit, but the TV stand was in pieces. Our usual furniture stores (Target, IKEA, etc) are over 1-2 hours away, so I decided to look for an old dresser to replace the TV stand. I tried craigslist, but since we live in the boonies everything I found on craigslist was over an hour away. Finally, after a month of looking, I found an old campaign dresser at a thrift store that was the perfect size for our living room! And it was even cheaper than the TV stands I was considering at Target or Ikea online. Basically, I was really excited about this find :) I even made Josh skip part of a BYU football game to pick it up from the store since I couldn't lift it. Husband of the year award for sure! Leaving a BYU game to pick a dresser from a thrift store. That is love.

Here it is in the store. I thought about buying the teddy bear to go with it, but the first rule to thrift store shopping is never buy stuffed animals.
It's a "Drexel Campaign Dresser" and it is really sturdy and seems to be in great shape. I actually didn't mind the wood color of the drawers and sides, but the top of the dresser had a really weird light wood veneer that I thought looked funny. So I decided to paint it.
 I miss having a garage to do projects, but we just set up shop on the porch and got it done. Two coats of oil based primer, three coats of Benjamin Moore Advance enamel paint (which I loved working with!), and then two coats of polycrylic. 
The brass hardware was pretty dingy, so we polished it with Brasso. It took more work than I expected, but it cleaned up after a little scrubbing.
 And now it's done! My "projects" always take more work and more time than I think they will, but I am actually pretty happy with how this one turned out. The best part is that it holds so much stuff - movies, electronics, office supplies, changing pad and diapers, books, etc.
And it looks so nice with our antique VHS player. We're kind of going with the antique theme in the front room :)

9 comments:

Unknown said...

WOW. That looks amazing! I love how you kept the brass embellishments. Post pictures of your apartment! There was a yellow chair that I barely caught a glimpse of in one of the pictures. Post more!

mj said...

Why did we not meet sooner!? Ryan has forbade me from picking up any more furniture off the side of the road, and since I didn't spend any money on those finds, I'm sure it applies to thrift store finds as well. I've already done a quatrefoil end table, a chair and a rocking chair. I might just come over to stare at your tv stand if that's okay. :)

Amy W. said...

That looks dynamite! I love the color.

Carrie Richins said...

Wow. That looks amazing. Nicely done!!

We just got rid of our VCR. We're pretty fully converted over to DVD by now, and plus, little fingers had shoved too many toys into the VHS part for it to keep working anyway...

JS said...

Um. IT is amazing! I love it! It has so much more character than IKEA... and probably ghosts from the last owner. :)

I wanna see pics of your place too cause I am loving the yellow chair and wanna see it. :)

Diana Hulme said...

I love it!!! That's a seriously great find...I'm a little jealous. :) You are on a roll, girl! I'm loving all of your projects, especially the paid-nothing-or-next-to-nothing ones! You are being creative but everything still looks really great. Love you!!! xoxo

Becky said...

You're a pro!

Kristy said...

You and Jen are my craft idols. I have ideas, and then never do it. I need about 3 more hours in my day or less kids, but I really like the kids so I guess I will keep my life the way it is. he he

Michelle said...

so impressed