DIY - reform a dresser

Feeling crafty, I picked up some furniture at Goodwill last week with the intention of giving them a new life. My Saturday was planned - spray painting, some more painting, and willing the sun to shine long enough for it all to dry.

That morning though, my hubby woke up and stated his intent to go work on our rental house, and did I want to go along?  I questioned what exactly he was planning to do. "Oh, just clean up a bit, and see what needs fixing," he said.
No. I really didn't feel like going anywhere. I was eager to finish said projects.

"Can the work wait until next weekend, when we are planning on heading down that way anyway?" I asked.

No reply.
"Well, I don't understand why you are going to drive an hour and a half when there's nothing specific that needs fixing, but okay..."
No reply.
It must be a guy thing. Go on, go work with your hands, I thought. If that's what makes you happy.  

But in all fairness, when I thought about my projects, I started to understand.

He takes pride in keeping his house in shape.  I take pride in keeping my home organized. 

There you have it. And since the house we own is currently not our home, we each went our separate ways, enjoying our day nonetheless.

Here is one of my Goodwill finds: a little 3-drawer dresser, pretty ugly and scratched up, but solid wood.
After sanding it down with a belt sander, I used wood filler on the two holes and drilled a new hole in the center of the drawers. By the way, have you ever used power tools? It's quite fun and it makes you feel...powerful. Anyhow, I then applied primer, two coats of antique white, semi-gloss paint, and the new hardware.
Ta-Da! The finished product is cute, yes?

I knew exactly where I'd use it.  With cold weather blowing in, I had hats and mittens littering my entry bench. So this dresser's new home is in our front room, and in its drawers hide the winter paraphernalia.
I love it!

This project took several days to complete.  First off, its fall, and the days don't get very warm here in Flagstaff in November.  The can read that the paint must be applied between 50 and 90 degrees. That meant I had about 2 hours each day in which to paint, and with three coats of paint to apply that meant three days of mess on the back patio. Secondly, in case anyone has forgotten, I still have four children. They don't disappear when I want to paint (darn it anyway). So Saturday saw me painting while the kids jumped on the trampoline and ran all around me.  One of their stunts was to start in the house and then run out the door, across the patio and lawn, and onto the trampoline, which just happens to be the same level as half of the yard. Just as I was about to paint the last drawer, my oldest smacked his toe on the door jam and started screaming bloody murder. Oh great! I set down my brush to go inside and tend to his cut.

When I stepped back outside, this is what I saw...

actually, the drawer was knocked over too

"Why are you taking pictures?" my puzzled daughter asked me.
"Because I'd rather take pictures of the mess than cry," I said.