Tuesday, March 31, 2009

before & after

With spring here and in an effort to lighten things up around my house, I decided to tackle a piece last weekend that had been bugging me to no end lately. This dresser was posted about here... it has served me well for many years but it was time to go white. Everytime I paint a piece white {which has been many, many times} I never regret it. So I knew it was time.

Here is the before. Clunky & heavy and the pine sides were enough to make me drink.


Here it is after a coat of white mixed up from leftovers in my garage and distressed:







A close-up of the distressing.

In an effort to blend my love of white furniture with my tapestry and leather couches, I had to drape a honey colored scarf over it... otherwise I would have left it bare. And I realize it's still really cluttered, but the family photos have to go somewhere.

See how good it looks looking down the entry hall now {and this is TOTAL BLOG LOVE cuz my house is a wreck and Neva is watching Zoboomafoo and I didn't even close the entertainment center for you...

Here is that same corner of my living room {with a different mirror in the corner} on a normal day:
Now, do I paint the black shelves above the dresser to match? I think it might look better....
p.s. I don't know why the photos look so washed out... I tried flash and no flash. It must be the time of day here and my lighting. Sorry.
p.s.s. {or is it p.p.s.?} I wanted to order glass knobs for the dresser, but I actually think I will leave the knobs as is because it ties it in with my big heavy living room furniture just beyond it. And it looks kind of Ballard-ish with those simple little knobs. Thoughts?

19 comments:

Amber B. said...

I love the transfomation! Looks great white. If you don't want to paint the shelves, maybe move the 2 black frames down onto the white dresser, then you would tie in the black. I love your frames, too, BTW!

Chris Kauffman said...

I think you have done a wonderful job on the dresser , I love it .
I like the shelves dark , may switch out the feather wreath to something lighter , I like the mix of the dark and light , a pretty light plate perhaps??

Jackie said...

It looks great! I love the distressing! I'd keep the knobs and the shelves - I like the contrast. I agree with Chris - maybe change out the feather wreath for something lighter for spring. Great job!!

Nora said...

The transformation is amazing! So shabby chic.

Kari said...

Thank you all for the feedback and the suggestions. I am taking all of them and will be back when I "work it out". Thank you!

Susan said...

I love it just the way it is. The distressing is awesome. It must have been a paint the dresser weekend. I am just finishing up one for my entry way. Can't wait for all the storage and decorating possibilities!

Wendy said...

I like the knobs. Don't change them. I think I'd probably leave the shelves as well.

Love the transformation. Awesome!

Michelle, All Home and Love said...

I love the little knobs, they are great on it. Hmmm...not sure about the shelves. If it were me, I wouldn't paint them the exact same way. If you want to do them white, I might do a different distressing technique so there is a bit of contrast? The dresser itself looks awesome though, so cute.
~Michelle

Free Art Printables said...

I like the black and white contrast of the shelfs! It looks great! I am lightening up too.. it seems so springy!

Joy said...

It looks great! I like the contrast of the white dresser and the black shelves.(It seems everyone else does too) And I like the existing knobs. Glass knobs wouldn't show off the piece---they would be a lot less noticeable.
I also like the idea of moving down the black frames to the white dresser to balance out the color scheme.

Ness Lockyer said...

Looking good! I would paint them white too...but thats me! LOVE your big 'P' on the top shelf.
Ness xx

Anonymous said...

Beautiful! I love the distressed look. A hydrangea wreath would look gorgeous. The scarf on top is a nice touch. :) Madeline

Leah C said...

Love, love the "new" look you gave the dresser! It's so lovely:) I think the shelves would look very nice with the same distressed treatment.

Kasey said...

i love white, so i would paint the shelves. but that's me.
You should do what "jumps" out to you.

Cynthia said...

I love the white, I'm thinking black/brown picture frames and leave the knobs, I like them. I am curious about the feather wreath, could you take a closer picture and show it. I have one, but I would like to see what you added to it. Thanks

Kari said...

Cynthia,
If you copy this url to another window, it will take you to a post all about the feather wreath:
http://reeseandmarie.blogspot.com/2008/11/wreath-for-all-seasons.html

Anne Marie said...

WOW! I swear....some of you ladies out there are very talented...you did a super job with that distressing!!

nice to meet you!!!!

Cynthia said...

Thank you so much, I'm going to copy you! Thanks for the ideas! I love your style. And I love your blog picture. Simply stunning!

Natalie said...

How do you do your distressing? It looks fab!