An Old Chest of Drawers

I know that I have been complaining about my furniture; both the lack of and the need to paint everything. I had in my head that it would not be so all consuming, but it is and everything seems to need paint. I desperately need a desk so I can create my soon to be amazing office/craft room. Not only so I can work there, but also so my daughter can get all her crafts out of our living room.

The first item that is almost completely finished and usable is a chest of drawers. This was actually my sisters for the longest time. My mom got it from somewhere and painted it white. I always thought it was from one of those unfinished wood stores, but have come to realize it has a finish on it that I don't think my mom applied. Therefore, it must be from a garage sale or the like. My sister stopped using it when I moved out to go to college because she wanted the French Provencal furniture that was previously mine in high school. My last year of college I moved into my first unfurnished apartment and needed somewhere to put my clothes.

I painted the chest dark blue and then applied a glitter-y topcoat to it; the reason is unbeknownst to me. At that time they were just starting to come out with all these fancy finishes so I think it was just too enticing to resist. I took the chest with me to North Carolina and it stayed blue for a few years until I could no longer stand it and painted it green. I tried to strip the glitter and paint off, but I failed miserably and ended up with this odd texture that is not pleasant. Other things happened to it such as getting left out in the rain, odd pieces of wood getting glued to the drawers (don't ask), and random strokes of blue paint (I don't even know). For the past few years it has been shoved in hidden corners storing off-season clothes.

The last chest we had was from Ikea and my daughter who, bless her heart, loves to help put away clean laundry. To do this she often opens all the drawers and the Ikea chest would often fall on top of her - not fun. So I thought since I am in Colorado and have access to every tool imaginable at my Dad's workshop/parents garage I should fix that old chest up (at least it is wood and fairly sturdy, right?).

I sanded it, over what amounts to about three days, and still didn't get all the roughness out. Deciding that I am putting too much work into this old, less than desirable furniture I went ahead and painted it. Nearly all my furniture is getting painting with some grey paint I got in the mis-tinted discount pile at McGuckin's. It is from their most expensive line and I love it. It is smooth and odor free; what more could you ask for in paint?

 My plan had been to paint the drawers white, the rest grey, and then stencil numbers on the front similar to this. While perusing for stencils I found one of my favorite patterns and decided to buy that instead of numbers. Seven hours after beginning it was finished. From far away it looks really good, but from about six inches away you can see all my stenciling issues. During the seven hours I was getting frustrated because I can see every mistake, but now I am beginning to appreciate it because I mostly see it from the hallway. Plus, the seven hours is becoming a distant memory (of course it still needs knobs, Oy!). I still haven't finished sealing it, but it does have clothes in it as opposed to the giant Home Depot box that was sitting in the middle of the room. Now I just need to get the frames pictured below back on the wall. I thought I could finish them in a day, but I am currently on day three.