Curbside Shopping

Do you have "Bulk Garbage Day" in your area? If you do, they are a great way to pick up some free furniture and save it from the landfill! I got up bright and early (and convinced my husband to do the same) because I knew there was some good things out there. There was a lot of excitement followed by disappointment. I kept yelling at my husband "Oh, down that street, I see a dresser!" Only to see it up close and it really was garbage. But it was all worth it because I found this little dresser.



It had three coats of paint on it (white, forest green & mint green) and because of all the layers of paint the drawers were getting stuck in places. But I figured a free dresser is a good time to try stripping paint. So I headed to Habitat for Humanity Re-Store to see if they possibly had a can of leftover stripper. They had boxes and boxes of it for $4/can. I see the same can in stores for $9.99. It is called Circa 1850.



I was worried about the smell being too strong but really it just smelled like vodka and not too chemical-y. I still put on my mask though. I just spread on the stripper with an old paint brush and in a couple minutes is started to look like this.



Then I just used a scraper and the paint was coming off so easy! I was pretty amazed.



It didn't take long at all to take it right down to the wood. I used the palm sander to get all the little bits of paint off. The wood was beautiful and in great shape. I considered just staining it in a nice colour but it was faded around where the original hardware had been and I wasn't sure if that would show through the stain.



So I painted it white (of course). One of these days I'm going to go for a really fun colour. While I was at the Re-Store I found these large wooden knobs that I thought would look cute if I painted them. And they were only $0.25/knob. Great deals at the Re-Store! I was really happy with the way this dresser turned out, the knobs especially.






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10 comments:

  1. that is sooo cute! we don't have nulk pick up here, which makes me so sad. i would love to go take my neighbor's trash! actually a neighbor i didn't know was moving and had a vintage dresser and dining table in his truck getting ready to haul to the dump. my friend who lived next door told me, so i knocked on his door and told him i would save him a trip to the dump! :) i subsrcibe to you via reader, btw, and it always annoys me that it doesn't show up as follow! so i am following you, just can't see my pic up there!

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  2. So cute! I love the handpainted knobs!! Great job! Thanks for stopping by a dash of parsley!

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  3. Wow! Love it. You lucky gal to get something like that off of the street! We don't have bulk garbage either... I think that would make my stomach churn if we actually did and people USED IT! They either donate it to a thrift store or put it on Craigslist for free...

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  4. Great work from saving that from a landfill!! :) If only the original owners could see it now, they might think twice about throwing it out!! Their loss, your beautiful gain!

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  5. I know Jeralee! Some of things people were throwing out were good things! I think it is encouraged for others to pick up the stuff but the point of bulk garbage day is for actual garbage (like old fridges, etc).

    I also "saved" a mint condition Little Tykes picnic table for my little girl. Who throws stuff like that away?!

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  6. That turned out nice! Hope I can get the paint on my antique door to come off as easily!
    Thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting!

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  7. I'm glad I found your blog too! I love this dresser makeover. Nice work!

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  8. So cool! This dresser totally turned out amazing! Great job!

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  9. I've been reading all your before & afters. You're my new Martha Stewart!

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