Sunday, May 26, 2013

the night(mare) stand

I don't know why I didn't just leave this thing the way it was, since everyone seems to be distressing the heck out of all their furniture and making pieces look like if they weren't just run over by a lawn mower, they were missing a heck of an opportunity.

But I started this project long before I really knew what a blog was or that crappy chippy/shabby was the current trend.  I wanted it to be all sparkly and pretty and new.

Now I pretty much just want it to die.

This is another piece I got from my sister.  Thank goodness I've become her own personal dumping ground.  No, really...because how else could I have this much fun?






I started off with this super-duper EASY and MAGICAL paint stripper.


LIES.  ALL LIES!!


I'm so glad I took pictures with all this green crap on, because goodness knows I need the reminder so I'm not so foolish again.  Next time I'm just adding another layer of paint.


Stripper.  Right.  I can strip too, but at least I never promised it would be magical.




 
I got so disgusted that I threw this little piece of hell in the basement where it lurked for months, making lewd gestures at me when I wasn't looking.

I know it did.

If I didn't hide it away, I was going to take a sledge hammer to it.  

Since I was then devoid of a nightstand, I had to move my jewelry armoire to my bedside.

What a pain in the dog's butt.


It's too tall, the surface is too small, and YES...I have to open the lid to get my jewelry out, which means every day I have to remove my lamp, alarm clock, etc.  Then start all over again. 

Enter the cardboard box.    

Because you haven't truly lived until you've had a cardboard box for a nightstand.
For real.  Yes, that's a Ped Egg.  I now have smooth feet.

I won't mention the vaseline.


My husband was going to paint my new nightstand but thought better of it.

Months later I brought Mr. Nightmare back upstairs to continue my torture.  It sat in the kitchen for another month, untouched.  Baring its teeth at me.

When I finally took it outside, armed with a sander, steel wool, and stripper wash, little progress was made.  Philly came upon his damsel in distress and immediately took over the project.  (Freaking YAY!!) 



HE'S the magic man!  And here's his magical tool:

   
What the hell did you think I was going to show you? 


After the first hour or so, I looked up into my husband's safety-goggled bug eyes, and I meekly whimpered, "I love you..."

He replied, "And it should be clear and obvious that I love you."

He despises this sort of work.  I love him even more.

Here's what it looked like when he finished:


  
It's in pretty rough shape and needs some filler, but I'm not documenting that part here because I completely hate it and it's boring (and I suck at it). 
Next step: Primer and More Paint.

Brilliant.

Out comes the crusty old can of ASCP Old White for my body, and the new can of Paris Grey for my drawers.  How apropos.

I wanted to try dark wax for the first time ever, so I experimented with one drawer front.  First I put clear wax on, then a thin layer of dark and immediately wiped it down.  Turns out I hate it.  Maybe I'll like it on something else, but it just made the gray look like mud.


 So I painted it over and just used clear.  I had the same issue with the Old White.

 However, I knew it needed something a little extra special.  After all, we've been through a lot together.

I had some Martha Stewart Metallic Thundercloud that I used for the hardware.  I decided to also paint the "medallions" to make them pop.

I also found a nice frame image from Karen at the Graphics Fairy, and added my own text inside.  I transferred it and painted it with paint pens.
 It was my inaugural paint pen party.

And Voila...

Let me reintroduce "my little piece of hell."






For those of you who aren't Magali, yes, that really does say, "my little piece of hell."










The progression:


I'm glad I didn't kill the nightstand, but I never want to go through something like this...
 Ever.
Again.


Even with my obnoxious sense of humor, this piece was featured!






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50 comments:

  1. Well, I know it was a pain in the dog's butt, but it turned out pretty darn fantastic!! A huge step up from the cardboard box ha ha! Hope you're having a great weekend:)

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  2. It turned out absolutely fantastic. You have the best husband ever. And I've also had a cardboard box nightstand, side table and coffee table!

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  3. I'm diggin' the cardboard box, with or without the Vaseline.

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  4. I LOVE your little piece of hell. I was kind of disappointed in your husband's tool, but in the picture of the box bedstand, is that a vibrator I see toward the back?

    Love,
    Janie

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  5. It looks awesome even if it was a pain! :) I'm visiting from Keeping it Simple.. hope you'll stop by and say hello!

    -Bonnie @ Revolutionaries
    www.revolutionariesblog.com

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  6. well the cardboard box was fantastic, but the nightmare turned into a dream come true!

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  7. I feel your pain when it comes to stripping! My advice pay the pros to dip it or burn it...not that I tend to follow my own advice. It was rough but what a diamond in the rough. It's a beauty now!

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  8. I have indeed had a cardboard nightstand!!! This is so much better! You did a great job girl and now you can get to your family jewels more easily! Speaking of which...love your husbands tool! You crack me up! Now you see why I'm terrified to do a furniture piece?!! I have a question.....so did you just paint over the wax that you didnt' like? or did you have to remove it first.

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  9. This is hilarious. The only comment I have is why not the graphic on the front drawers, with your lamp and alarm clock, it won't be so visible. I'm still at the I don't know if I can paint all that wood stage, but I'm trying. Too bad we don't live close I love the stripping of paint part, I know, I know I have a sickness. You see my husband doesn't love me in the same way yours does. He just sort of grunts when he walks by a piece in progress. He knows better than to say throw it out, it only means no soup for him. You did good, it looks great.

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  10. This is sooooo- funny! I have been right there with you! I'm not a stripper! What a precious hubby to finish stripping that nightmare table for you! You did an amazing job on the transformation! I love your color choices and the silver accents are perfect! It's a piece of Heaven now!

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  11. Ha...ha...ha, want a great laugh? read Andi's post! It will crack you up in a good way....lol. I love your little nightmare from hell! Dreams can turn sweet!:)

    Hugs
    Sumaya

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  12. Oh I so totally love this piece, how pretty. Love the graphic and the two tone paint treatment. Beautiful. I would love for you to link up to my Inspire Me party this afternoon. www.astrollthrulife.net. Hugs, Marty

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  13. Wow, What an awesome, beautiful piece. I love it...Connie

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  14. it turned out great andi! even if it was hell!!

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  15. I have done exactly the same thing. Odd, it wasn't nearly this funny when I was trying to strip the piece I worked on for years. Yours turned out great. Mine turned up in the trash.

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  16. this is the most prettiest night stand ever!

    I would love it if you could come and link it up in my link party Serenity Saturday which is open till Thursday

    Natasha xx

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  17. It was a lot of work but the nightstand look so pretty now. Your persistance paid off!

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  18. Wow! I love! What a long progress, tho! The cardboard box tidbit was hilarious.

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  19. This turned out great! Love the grey and white with the touches of metallic too. I FULLY understand the frustration you felt, I am currently redoing a dresser that is giving me the same frustration but seeing this (and not to mention the fact that you just worked through it it) makes me want to keep going. You did an AWESOME job, thanks for sharing and inspiring me to keep at it :).

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  20. lol.... you stripped the thing down to the bare wood--- only to paint it? ....... You must be young... the older you get the less you want to do stuff like that! lol I would have mixed up some milk paint ( paint with plaster of paris added to it) then put on some clear wax just because thats what everyone is doing these days.... I'll stop doing that once I've used up the can lol.... then I would have taken a black ink pad to the edges to distress it--- then a brown ink pad to distress it some more.... Hey, have you ever used paper clay to fix spots on furniture? Works like a charm! I use it patch all sorts of things :-) Anywho---- your small dresser is fabulous. You should paint your jewelry chest tooooooo! lol
    big hugs,
    Cheryl

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  21. :-) ha!ha! I really like it! I'm glad you didn't kill it! glad to have stopped by from twelwe o eight party! :-)
    Ingrid

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  22. Loved your post! Hilarious at times but I know that frustration when they advertise something as magical and it only makes a mess. In the end you can be very proud of your nightstand ! I especially like the silver details :-)

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for sharing this at the WEDNESDAYS ADORNED FROM ABOVE Blog Hop !

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  23. I love your sense of humor! Your nightstand turned out perfect! You gave me some ideas for my own nightmare nightstand I've had for 5 years, and I think it's time to tackle!

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  24. I have a piece similar. For future reference, there are primers that would not require all that sanding and stuff... Just in case you might decide to tackle something like that again. The one I have tried is called Gripper and it seems to work pretty well.
    tm

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  25. Ok, I'm going to chime in. I don't like the look of distressed chalk paint for MY home (shocking, I know) so I use homemade chalk paint -plaster of paris recipe) for primer. It sticks to anything. Then I use whatever latex paint color I like over that. Anyway, your story was hilarious and your piece of hell looks like Heaven.
    Love your blog and we are joining you. We invite you to join us.

    Have a very blessed day.
    Linda at The French Hens Nest

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  26. I'm a huge fan of chippy/shabby/chic. It reminds me of the past, mostly my great grandparent's home. I do like how your table finally turned out the best though. Great job and very a very humorous posting! Visiting from the TwelveOEight link party. Have a great day! ~ Jamie

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  27. You always have the funniest posts. I had to see the nightstand from hell. I've been linking at the same parties all week and finally came to see what you were sharing. Seriously, do you ever see anyone stripping their furniture before they paint it? No, because it's awful! Yours came out tres jolie in the end! Cindy @ sunsetcoasting.blogspot.com

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  28. You are very funny, and I totally feel your pain! The finished product came out great... Maybe next time try a heat gun, I hate stripper too and my heat gun is now like my best friend... I absolutely adore the quote on top! Found you from PoPP!

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  29. I love how your piece turned out. I've used the M.S. thundercloud on a few pieces and I love it. I still have a little left that I'm saving for a vanity.

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  30. There are other way more fun ways of stripping that don't involve furniture ;) I stick to that kind.

    I HATE to strip paint. Your table is delightful now, but she probably deserves to sit in a corner somewhere for a long time out.

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  31. This is an awesome tutorial and we can't believe how beautiful it turned out! We hate stripping paint - but what you get in the end is a terrific piece of furniture.

    Just wanted to thank you for taking the time to share this at our BeBetsy BRAG ABOUT IT Tuesday. xo Sharon and Denise

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  32. You are hilarious! I love what you did with it!

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  33. What a journey, so fun to read. The piece looks great!

    <3 Sarah

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  34. Love your post and the finished product. My last post was about my fear of AS's waxes. So glad I'm not the only one without the waxing gene.

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  35. That turned out great! A LOT of work but so worth it! Thanks for sharing with us at Monday Funday! ;) Bonnie @ Uncommon Designs

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  36. Love this makeover! I love the colors you chose! Thanks so much for sharing at Project Inspired! Heather

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  37. I can SO relate! I've had a few of those myself!! ;)
    I do love how this little nightmare stand turned out though and have included it in my group of favorites from last week's Project Inspire{d} linky party. Thanks so much for sharing! :)
    Nancy

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  38. It's so cute! I still strip paint sometimes and pain in the dog's butt doesn't nearly cover it. There's a table in my barn that needs sanded or killed but I don't want to look at it.

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  39. What a makeover! Goodness... what the outcome is gorgeous. I'm featuring it in this week's Power of Paint Party Spotlight. Thanks for linking up.

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  40. Thank goodness and the heavens above I came over to look at the nightstand. I thoroughly enjoyed your torturous journey to the finale'. I adore the message on the top - very clever of you to spell it all out.

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  41. Thanks for the laugh! You are a STAR over at I Gotta Create! Featuring your fabulous night(mare) stand. Thanks so much for linking up at the Wildly Original link party.

    http://igottacreate.blogspot.com/2013/06/bed-bath-kitchen-ideas.html

    <3 Christina @ I Gotta Create!

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  42. Well, your little peice of hell turned out heavenly. I think you really need to rename it! I had a nightmare piece like that, only it was a huge, hulking cabinet. I named it The Beast. It now sits in my living room holding many scrapbooks and other books.

    Thank you for sharing it at What We Accomplished Wednesdays. Have a great weekend!

    Hugs,
    Deborah

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  43. The winding path from quilt blogs led me to your blog. I have laughed so hard it made my stomach hurt. I had the same time warp in stripping a table I bought in a garage sale that cost more in "refinishing" than a real antique table. You did a fine job and it looks good now. I am saving your blog, and thanks for your humor. I am trying to get my house ready to sale and it's just no fun going through all my stuff, and trying to pare it down.

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    1. Awesome! I'm so glad you found me! Yep, we're getting our house ready to sell too...it is a TON of work!

      -andi

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  44. I just stumbled upon your blog today, and you... I like! Not often that I laugh out loud while reading a blog. OK,never. You have brought the humour (yes, I am Canadian, I throw in random u's) back to DIY! Keep up the great work.

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    1. Haha...you should try my Pot Farm post! It seems to have caused quite a stir!!

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  45. I was having trouble commenting over at Hometalk, so I came here (plusI knew you'd have the translation)...I had a table mid-strip in our basement for awhile...now it is at a friend's house where she (GASP) spray painted it!

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