The Long Awaited Dresser Post - Part 2

(Click here to read part 1)

So where were we? Oh yes, I believe we left off somewhere around here:

A hunk of burning dresser love

The dresser had been sanded and stained, leaving us with a gorgeous grain (seriously, look at it) and thismuch closer to a finished product.

The next step was to put on the top coat - the one part of the process that I was actually able to do myself. Cue the giddyness.Who has two thumbs and gets excited about applying sealer? This girl. The product I used is called Safecoat Acrylacq and it looks a little something like this:

At nearly $30 including shipping, it's not exactly a bargain but it had my vote for a couple of reasons. The first is that it's non toxic, low odor and low voc, which meant that I could apply it without worrying that my unborn child would sprout a last minute third arm (mission accomplished!). Secondly, it seals in any offgassing that might arise from the wood and stain, which makes me feel okay about putting it in the nursery. And thirdly, it comes highly recommended from Young House Love, my oft-referred to DIY blog resource. Also note my stylish respirator mask, left over from painting the nursery, which, combined with applying it in a well ventilated area, further protected my little man from any unwanted extra limbs. Yeah you're welcome, Harrison.

I ended up putting on three coats of the sealer, sanding lightly with fine steel wool in between each coat. The steel wool was able to sand down the tiny rough spots that popped up without taking off the sealer (it just dulled it down a bit), so it worked perfectly. After rubbing the surfaces quickly with the wool, I ran a damp cloth over everything to get rid of the dust and then applied my next coat of acrylacq, letting it cure overnight. Rinse and repeat.

Oooo shiny

Once the final coat cured, my step-dad loaded the bad boy up in his truck, hauled it up to our second floor apartment and now it sits all pretty-like in the nursery!

I have plans for the wall behind the dresser, hence the "in progress" label. While the dresser itself is finished the nursery isn't quite there yet. Here's the previous list I posted:

• Set up the crib (my wonderful mother and step-dad got it for us and it should be in this week!)
• Fix up the dresser (I finally found one...more on that soon!)
• Finish the mobile
• Possibly find a twin bed for guests/those late night visits to the nursery - however this might be a "Phase 2" project
• Make/buy curtains

For now we're shelving the bed idea, but I also need to add:

• Build book shelves (my next big project)
• Hang up wall art

And now for more photos of the dresser, including a proper before and after:

It's hard to get across the exact coloration of the dresser, but the photo on the left below the "before" picture is probably the most accurate. It's a nice rich golden color and I love it.

Total cost breakdown:

Dresser: $43.30
Stain: Free (on hand)
Steel Wool: Free (on hand)
Paintbrush: Free (on hand)
Mask: Free (on hand)
Safecoat Acrylacq: $29.48

Total: $72.78

I'm a Fan

So I have a confession to make. I'm not entirely sure that I'm allowed to paint in my apartment. Did that stop me from buying $70 worth of paint this weekend? Nope.

I say not entirely sure because I've never actually even asked, just on the off chance that the answer is no. I figure I'm in a better situation if complications arise and I can say "Oh really? I had no idea..." quite truthfully.

The way I justify it is this: I'm going to paint it back. And because I'm a perfectionist, it will probably look better than it did before. Just sayin'. I did ask if the apartment provides touch up paint, and they do, which means all I'll have to do is bring it to the store, color match it, and buy a couple of gallons. But that could be years down the road, so onward!

Garage sale-ing with my mom this weekend didn't reward us with a dresser (though there is a candidate at a resale shop in town, so stay tuned), but I did walk away with this:

We hit up four garage sales in the area and then on our way back home caught sight of a church having one as well, so we made a quick stop. It was easy to see once we got inside that they didn't have the type of furniture we were looking for, but we walked around for a minute anyway and I happened to pick up the fan deck. Lo and behold, it was for Mythic paint - the exact paint brand that we're using for the nursery. Why yes, I think I'll take you home with me.

According to the tag on the back, it was originally $26.00 (and the ones on the website now are $30.00) so I feel pretty good about picking this one up for 2 buckeroos. Even though I already had our color picked out for the nursery (Plumage, by Martha Stewart), I figured it was good to have because 1. In case they had trouble color matching in the store (they didn't), I would be able to find the closest match via swatches, 2. I could pick out a complementary gray in Mythic's own colors and not have to color match, and 3. For future painting endeavors, I'd have it on hand.

The next day Charles and I set out to get the rest of the supplies to start the nursery painting process. First off was the primer:

Low odor & Zero VOC

We went with the Olympic primer that Young House Love used when they painted their guest room the same dark blue color. The nice thing about tinted primer is that you don't need as many final coats of the actual paint. And since this stuff is only $16 a gallon (vs $44 for the paint), I'm happy to add it to the materials list.

Next up was the actual paint:

Like I said in the last post, we went with Mythic paint because it's non-toxic and zero VOC - even when they add in the color. So while it's about twice as expensive as regular paint, I'm happy with the choice since it's going in the nursery. Also, don't you just love their retro-esque branding?

We ended up getting two quarts of the Plumage accent color and two quarts of the gray - each one will be on two of the four walls in the room. We're leaving the ceiling alone, even though it's the same beige/off-white color the rest of the walls currently are. I don't think I have the stamina or the arm strength to mess with it...we just won't look up :)

We also picked up a few other supplies:

I was initially just going to ask around my various family members to borrow rollers, brushes and the like, but I figured if I'm going to be a real DIY-er, I need my own equipment. And at $9.97 for the ("$25 Value!") set, it wasn't exactly breaking the bank. Also added to the ranks: frog tape (so much better than blue painter's tape) and a "valved respirator" mask. Even though the paint is zero VOC and we'll be keeping the windows open for ventilation, I'll still feel better about wearing one of these bad boys.

The plan for this week is to clear out the remainder of the room, tape and prime and then early next week we'll tackle the painting.

Current cost breakdown:

• Primer: $18
• Painter set, frog tape & mask: $26
• 4 Quarts of Mythic paint: $70

TOTAL: $114

So I'll be sure to post updates on our first major painting adventure...Any painting tips you'd like to share? :)

Nursery Idea Board

So I thought I'd end my month+ long sabbatical with something fun! We finally moved and got settled in and then my nesting instincts took over and I'm itching to get started on decorating the nursery (we're actually going to have a nursery!). Being in a two bedroom apartment? Super awesome, by the way.

I've been Pinning nursery ideas over on Pinterest like a madwoman for the past few months and I finally got around to making an idea board. Before we found out what we were having I was being drawn to more feminine touches, so when we found out we were having a boy, I was a little worried that I wouldn't know what direction to take. But one afternoon on Pinterest and suddenly I had a completely different vision. I love old maps and globes, and I decided that with a traveler theme I could incorporate a bunch of different topics (trains, hot air balloons, etc) without getting too match-y. If there's one thing I knew I wanted to stay away from, it was a room that looked like a catalog. I also didn't want to go with something that screamed "baby", so that we could adapt it as he grows a little older.

The wall color is bold, but it's my favorite aspect. I first saw it over on Pinterest, but then it turned out to link to one of my favorite blogs, Young House Love. The color is called Plumage, by Martha Stewart, and I plan on having the color matched to a no VOC paint called Mythic Paint. This means it will be safer for me to use while pregnant (while taking frequent breaks, wearing a mask and keeping the windows open), but it will also be safer for our little guy, since it doesn't produce the fumes that normal paint can off-gas up to 30 days after painting. It's a little pricier than standard paint, but well worth the cost.

I can't wait to get started and share the progress!

Speaking of Mason Jars...

I recently stumbled upon this post from one of the blogs I follow called Young House Love that chronicles the adventures of Sherry, John and their adorable daughter Clara. I am continually jealous of all of their awesome home improvement projects since most of them I can't yet implement while in an apartment, but they really have some great and inspirational stuff.

One thing I CAN do, however, is this idea that Sherry came up with after seeing something similar in a Pottery Barn catalog. Observe:

Pottery Barn via Young House Love

See those jars over there on the right? They're filled with all sorts of goodies from what we can only assume are far off exotic lands, judging by the labels (you can't see them from this distance, but they're there). So Sherry took that idea and applied it to her own vacations that were, as she admits, a little less exotic but still fun nonetheless. So here is her take on the keepsake jars:

via

Fun, right? I have a habit of saving every little thing from a trip but it all ends up in a box somewhere and I don't see it again until I'm rummaging for something else and I happen upon a trip down memory lane. But I love this idea - putting small but memorable items into these (insanely cheap) jars to have a visual reminder of all of the places you've been.

In fact, I have a huge bag of stuff that I've been holding onto from our semester in Italy that I originally planned to scrapbook, but maybe I'll try this out instead....Read Sherry's full post here and be sure to poke around the rest of their blog as it is fantabulous.

What would you put in these jars?