I also have this superhero complex where I often feel like I'm rescuing furniture from an abused past or a bleak future. I will find a chair on the side of the road that screams, "Help me! I lived with three cats and they ripped a hole in my cushion!" or "A fat guy sat on me every day for 20 years. I just can't take it anymore."
But sometimes I have conversations with new furniture. I was at Ikea the other day and spotted a dresser that I had seen online before. It looked so sad. "Look at me. Some bachelor is going to take me home and stick me in his room and put an ugly art print and an alarm clock on me. And he'll only choose me because I'm cheap and have absolutely nothing interesting about my design. And then after two years when he moves he'll sell me for $5 on Craigslist because I never meant anything to him." And I said, "Not today, dresser. I'll take you with me and give you a facelift and a home, and put an original painting on you. You're going to look like you came from Anthropologie. And even though my kids may color on you and confuse you for a ladder, you will be loved for the rest of your little life."
Well, here's how it turned out. I forgot to take "before" pictures, so just imagine a very light unstained pine dresser with wooden knobs. I started with giving it a coat of dark walnut stain, and I took those little knobs and hand-painted them into cute little flowers. I love how it makes my room come together.
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| My daughter and I had a major discussion on how to style the top of the dresser. She did not want the mask on there. She kept taking it off and hiding it. |
