Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Sunshiny Stenciled Dresser

Thanks to those who came and visited me at A Lived in Home's Makeover Monday yesterday.  While you were there I gave you a little sneak peak of my newest piece.  Here are the details.

Here's what I started with, a $10 garage sale find:

 Someone along the way put on these tiny, little casters.  It was missing one.  See the sad, lopsided way the dresser is sitting?  See the sad, splotchy garage floor I've created?  Oops.
 A missing caster did not deter us.  A quick trip to Home Depot and I was home with these cute little table legs.  HD had lots of different styles of legs.  I had no idea stores carried these, but I'm glad I know now!  They were only about $1.25 each and screwed right into the bottom of the dresser after Big K drilled some holes in it.

Next up was a coat of my favorite Kilz primer.  I was using spray primer on all of my projects, but it's so much cheaper to buy a can and paint it on.  The problem is that oil-based primer can only be cleaned off of brushes with mineral spirits.  I found a great tip from Cassie at Primitive and Proper: instead of cleaning your paint brush after using primer, just wrap it in a plastic bag and pop it in the freezer until you need it again.

 I have been wanting paint something yellow and I was happy when I found this oops paint at the hardware store.  I painted the drawers white and then stenciled on the design.  I used a Martha Stewart stencil that I found at Michael's.  Of course, I used the 40% off coupon that is available on my blog.

Let's talk stencils for a minute.  I LOVE the look of a stenciled wall.  There are so many great examples of this in blogland.  So, this spring I thought I would try it myself.  I stenciled a wall in my dining room.  It turned out horrendously!  I don't even have any pics it was so bad.  I couldn't get the stencil to line up, paint bled through everywhere, etc.  It was basically a HUGE mess and a HUGE waste of time.  I ended up painting over the wall the next day. 

Needless to say, I have tons of respect for all of you bloggers that can stencil a wall.  It is not easy!

After my failed stencil experience, I wanted to try to redeem myself.  I'm never ever going to try a wall again, but I thought a small dresser would be a good place to give stenciling a second chance.

Here's the result:
See the new legs?

 Stencil success!

I kind of love the yellow and turquoise combo.

More on stenciling...I used this little foam roller (also from Michael's).  I made sure the roller was almost dry when I rolled on the paint.  I also used very light pressure when rolling.  Pressing too hard leads to the paint bleeding underneath the stencil.

If you want to give stenciling a try, but are intimidated, I say "go for it!"  It makes a big impact.  What's the worst that can happen?  You might have to paint over it?  But you also might be pleasantly surprised, as I was, and love the result!


Here's a cost breakdown in-case you are interested:

Dresser           $10
Legs               $5
Yellow paint   $5
White paint     already owned
Primer            already  owned
Stencil           $9 (40% off)
Foam Roller   $2

Grand Total  = $31

Not bad!  Especially since the stencil came in a pack of many stencils and I will be able to use them on future projects.

Linking up to some of these great sites:
Today's Creative Blog, Sugar Bee Crafts, Not Just a Housewife, Reasons to Skip the Housework, Bella Before and After, Primitive and Proper, Home Stories of A to Z, Savvy Southern Style, DIY by Design, Tip Junkie, Type A Decorating, http://sistersstuff.blogspot.com/, The Thrifty Home, Domestically Speaking, Primp,
A Diamond in the Stuff, Restore Interiors, The Shabby Chic Cottage, Somewhat Simple, Beyond the Picket Fence, Fireflies and Jellybeans,My Simple Home Life,
Addicted 2 Decorating, Just a Girl, Remodelaholic, Miss Mustard Seed, Finding Fabulous, Tatertots and Jello, Under the Table and Dreaming, Thrifty Decor Chick, Coastal Charm, Junker Newbie

37 comments:

Katie @ Wildwood Creek said...

Great makeover! Love the legs and stencil.

Rhiannon said...

Gorgeous! Saw it on the guest post too. You're one talented lady! But it's kind of reassuring to know everything doesn't always go right! (glad I'm not the only one!)

Anonymous said...

Suzie... HOW CUTE is this? I love your ideas.. I am gutted you are not closer - I need one of these for Tyler and I would have paid you for it!

SkinnyMeg said...

I agree with you, stenciling a wall is no joke! It's hard! I love the dresser, the yellow is gorgeous and fun. The stencil looks awesome and I love the legs!

Unknown said...

Love it! One of my favs:)

P.S. Garage floors can be painted too.

Unknown said...

very pretty!!, Im loving your legs!! Everything looks better with some legs!!

A room with a view said...

Wow, Suzy! You did an amazing job with this piece of furniture..and I love that you tied in the turquoise with the accessories. You must be so thrilled with the result!

Korrie@RedHenHome said...

This is utterly adorable! Stencils scare me...but I might be willing to try if I could get results this lovely.

Kahli said...

Really liking the final result. The stencil is a nice touch. Martha Stewart has a great line of stencils at Michael's. And I was looking to use the same stencil and now I know what it really looks like. Great job!

Katie said...

I absolutely adore this Suzy!! I love the feet you added to the bottom - it makes it have so much character!!

Cassie Bustamante said...

i already commented over at your guest post, but i LOVE it! so fun!

A Vintage Vine said...

WOW! Love the stencil on it!

Unknown said...

That is really a beautiful dresser. I love to stencil.

Courtney said...

beautiful work!! I'm still learning when it comes to stencilling, it's not easy! Kudo's Suzy!!

6th Grade said...

oh, you read my mind! i have the same stencil sitting on a dresser drawer right now but i couldn't pull the trigger! love what you did, esp the color! so cheery!

well done!

amy

DIYbyDesign said...

What an awesome makeover. I love that you added the little legs to the dresser. I think that's just perfect. Thanks for partying with me over at DIYbyDesign.

Deborah March said...

Mmmmm...such a CHEERFUL up-do...you ROCKED the stencilling this time!!

Kammy's Korner said...

This is incredibly gorgeous!!! I love stenciling drawers of desks/dressers/etc. Now I just need to go for something like that awesome yellow color!!!

Heidi said...

This is BE-A-U-TI-FUL! but $31 total? Come on!

Kathryn said...

I love the colour and the stencil... I was eying this exact stencil at Michael's today! Love it! Visiting from Primp.

Kathryn

hilary@oldhousetruelove said...

love this.

To the Toy Box and Beyond said...

that is a great makeover I wish I could paint that well

Vickie @ Ranger 911 said...

What a fabulous transformation of a $10 find!

said...

Spectacular! Like you, I am in awe of those gals who stencil entire walls--but I know I would go crazy! This is a perfect compromise! I also think the little legs you got make such a big impact! :)

Jacqueline said...

This is absolutely gorgeous! Thank you for sharing this at my link party!

Margaret said...

Wow what a difference! I love that you changed out the legs too!
As your newest follower I would love love love it if you linked up to my link party, T.G.I.F. ( Thank God I'm Finished) at Rummage Living, here's the link: http://www.rummageliving.com/2011/09/t-g-i-f-thank-god-im-finished-link-party-and-favorites/

Hope to see you there, and great job!
xo,
Margaret@RummageLiving
www.rummageliving.com

Maryann @ Domestically-Speaking said...

So cheery! Love the yellow paint and the stencil you chose. Thanks for sharing with us at the PoPP. I'm putting your dresser in the Spotlight this weekend.

WhyCuzICan said...

Hey Suzy (I'm Suzanne/Suzi too! Just diff spelling)

DARLING dresser and I sooo love those stencils (this exact one in fact) that I see all over blogland from Martha's new line. Looks super classy on this dresser too and the yellow? Super, super! :)

Glad I found you at the linky party today :)

Visiting from TGIF linky party today from rummageliving.com

Smiles, Suzanne
Your linky sista at #1 slot this week

Anita @ GoingALittleCoastal said...

This turned out so cute! I love the stencil and the yellow you used. You gave it a whole new life!

julie said...

Just found your blog and love the dresser! I have the same stencil and used it on a dresser redo and hated it! Then saw your post and redid mine...now I love it! Thanks!
Julie

Mandy said...

Gosh - you did a fabulous job on this dresser. So cheap too! I'd definitely buy it.
I'd love if you linked it to my party that started yesterday at www.projectqueen.org
Can't wait to see what you do next.
I'm a new follower.

Jacqueline said...

I'm featuring this tonight at my link party, I've seen table legs at the depot but what section did you get those cute little legs in?

The Joyful Thrifter said...

wow your redo is quite amazing!!! great job!
Smiles,
The Joyful Thrifter

elizabeth@themustardceiling said...

Beautiful job Suzy, what a transformation! I was reading through Apartment Therapy and saw your makeover today!

Unknown said...

Have a few questions....trying to do this on my dresser and the stencil is a nightmare...I am hanging in there but how many coats did you do? One light dry coat is not enough. I paint furniture for a living and thought this would be so easy....NOT ;)Also did you wash your stencil in between coats/sides? I am and it is taking forever :) Also once I do a section and then move to another you can see a line where the paint is overlapping. How do I avoid this
Thanks :)

Unknown said...

Hi Suzy,

About your first wall stencil (ie: practice..lol)

You need stencil adhesive (Michael's). Sprays on the stencil, and leaves a slight "tackiness". Movable, reusable, no residue. Also you will always get leakage with any foam applicator. You need a pouncing brush :) nothing else works as well.

Unknown said...

About lap/lapping marks:

If you need to use a previous section of completed stencil as registration...

You need to "feather" out the ending part of stencil, before using it to start the new section.

Um, kinda "fade out".

For keeping the stencil clean - it depends how long the stencil has been up (drying), or how much paint has been applied over the stencil.

For whatever the situation calls for, I clean my stencil as needed, as I go, by laying it on a fairly wet, flat towel, and just kinda swishing it around.

With too much paint build-up, you will begin to lose definition, plus some paint(s) will NEVER come off, once dried onto the acetate.