I made these…sort of…

I’m deep in the throes of this office renovation and while my “piece de resistance” is a leather couch (swear I’ll reveal the whole look soon), I knew that with that one purchase, my budget would be gone in a second! Therefore, the rest of the furniture would have to be second hand!

And so began the search.

I wanted a big work surface to be able to “spread out” and somewhere to hide all of the crap that I don’t want around (piles of paper, printer, shredder).

After much searching and multiple emails where I negotiated prices and let a few items go that I couldn’t afford, I found a dining room table and armoire that would suit the room perfectly.

The table was found quickly and delivered by a father and son duo…full of Irish wit and charm. They were a delight to spend a few moments with as they carried the table into my home…me, terrified to tell them I’d be painting the beautiful wood!

The armoire was a different story. I searched and searched with prices ranging from the ridiculous to asinine until I found a beat up, wonderful piece…but then had to get it home!

I phoned friends with trucks…measured vans…all to no avail. And then, I found steven.anderson@live.ca on Kijiji. He went to the sellers home, paid for the piece and delivered it to me for forty bucks!

And…as each piece arrived in my home, out came the paint! Here’s how it went:

Step One – I took off the shine! Both pieces required some sanding. The table was easily done by hand but the armoire required a power sander. In fact, I sanded until I could no longer feel the palms of my hands as they tingled so much! There were dents and bumps I needed to fill but all in all, it sanded down great and I rather like the charm of a couple of dings!

Step Two – I removed all the hardware and doors so in the end it would look like a professional job.

Step Three – Honestly, who am I kidding. I skipped Step Two realizing I wasn’t a professional and decided if I ended up with paint on the hardware, I could always scrape it off with my finger nail. (But I did tape them over as I’m not a complete moron!)

Step Four – I primed both of the pieces. For the table…I brought in Bones to help so she could do the “bendy down bits” and I could stay upright. For the armoire…she disappeared. Nowhere to be found. Totally took off like I was going to get her to help me or something!

Step Five – Lots of Paint! For the table…FIVE coats of super gloss paint with light sanding in between as recommended by Carmel, the lovely lady at Home Depot! For the armoire…I’m on hold. I’m awaiting the arrival of the fabric I ordered so I can get the exact shade of the color I’m planning on using!

Both pieces are perfect Kijiji finds where the desk put me back $180 and the armoire $120 plus $40 in delivery. Add to that, $50 in paint and supplies and I’ve two pieces of furniture for $390, delivered to my home, repurposed and absolutely amazing!!

All that’s left is to wait for the fabric to arrive then I’ll reupholster two chairs (I have no idea what I’m doing), pick the color then paint the armoire, and purchase a coffee table and accessories. Oh…and wait until you see the piece of art I found!

That’s the update for now! I’m having a blast. Soon, I’ll be working in a place perfectly suited to my liking so if you happen to know anyone who needs any design or web work done…send them my way.

It won’t be much longer ’til I’m hanging my shingle.

And open for business!