Before & After Cragslist Finds

So now that I have more time on my hands and I'm in need of some new decorations for our new home in Utah. I have become a little bit addicted to cragslist and the distribution center, don't judge me... I love finding something real cheap that has hidden potential. Then using some elbow grease to create something unique. Here are two of my recent purchases.

So I needed a new vanity and there it was on cragslist for $15 oh yeah that baby was mine.

After some elbow grease and some paint here is what I got.

Next, I found this great dresser for $10. When I saw it I fell in love with the vintage look. Not so much the color. Remember you need to look beyond the paint and see the bones of the furniture.

From this ugly painted Forrest green monster to this...

So I used the same painting technique on both pieces to get that old worn vintage look.

With the dresser I did start differently, as you can see someone painted it green and didn't do a good job. First, I tried sanding it but then I went to Home Depot and got some paint stripper. Let me tell you that stuff is amazing. I got the spray, I just sprayed it on and like 3 min later the 3 layers of paint just scraped right off. It actually was kinda of fun peeling it off, like peeling off a sunburn.  After that this is what I did to get that fabulous paint job...

First. I painted the furniture a base coat, that will later show through the top coat, I used Rust-Oleum Satin Espresso. I used spray paint on both pieces of furniture, cause I wanted a clean finish. But you can use any kind of paint.

Second. I took Vaseline and put it on the parts I wanted the brown to show through. So it looked old and vintage.

Third. I spray painted on the top coat. I used Rust-Oleum Satin Vintage white.

Fourth. I used my finger nail to scrap off the top coat where I applied Vaseline. Then I used a sanding block to rough up the edges. The more you sand the older and more worn it looks. When sanding think of how the furniture would naturally wear.

Fifth. I did spray a top coat on the top of the dresser and vanity, cause I knew that was going to be wiped down the most.

Sixth. I installed the handles. For the vanity I wanted the pop of color so I got these pretty green porcelain knobs at Hobby Lobby. For the dresser I really wanted to salvage the original handles but those ugly layers of paint did not want to come off. So I got these vintage looking handles from Home Depot.

Thanks for looking, let me know how your Redo projects go.