Painted Furniture Projects 2019

My latest masterpiece! An old dresser with a fresh new look.

Several years ago, I repainted my outdoor furniture, created a painted desk with a couple of file cabinets and a piece of plywood, and updated several pieces of furniture. It was my first summer of retirement, and I'd been dying to get these projects done for years. 

This time it's a little different. We're getting ready to  downsize to a condo, which means I've been selling and giving away items like crazy. The old deck set I had repainted a few years ago, won't fit on the much narrower balcony at the condo, so its gone to someone else's new home. Now I had to solve the problem of finding something to fit the balcony. The solution: A bistro set! 

I saw this one in an antiques mall and fell in love! It reminded me of the type you would see in an old soda fountain shop. More importantly, it reminded me of one a friend had years ago. I remember sitting on the deck, sipping my very first glass of sun tea - with lemon! How I enjoyed the company of kind people and the views of the Connecticut River.

Here is the updated version. I can't wait to see it on the new balcony in a few more weeks. I'll enjoy the old memories of friends, as I create new memories on the Thames River.

While I was at the antiques mall, I also bought two dressers. The blue one pictured above will replace a wider triple dresser, and the white one below will be storage for a bathroom with no cabinets. Thank goodness for neighbor Tim and his gigantic truck, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get all this home. We set up everything in the garage, so I could take advantage of the work space before we move. Then I pulled in a few other pieces from the house that needed a fresh look.

The garage became project central. The plan was to finish everything: bistro set, two dressers, file cabinet, and pine cabinet, in two weeks.  Of course that didn't happen, but I did finish the bistro set, blue dresser, and file cabinet.

I got a good start on this dresser...

...but the finish details will have to wait until after the move.

The pine cabinet I know I'll need for extra storage has two coats of primer and hardware and doors reinstalled. Since I can't decide which room I'll end up using it in, or what color I want to paint it, this will also wait to be finished after the move.

The old beat up file cabinet from the garage came out pretty nice and will go in my new office. I glued inexpensive frames to the drawers for a nice detail, painted everything white, and then added gold to the frames and hardware.

Over the weekend, we moved the furniture inside, rolled up the the plastic, packed the paints away, and cleaned the garage. Now, with three weeks to go, we're ready to get serious about packing!

See books by Laura S. Pringle on Amazon

 The Pringle Plan is a series of educational guides. 

 ©2019 Laura S. Pringle. All Rights Reserved.