don't like it, paint it

I have been doing a lot of painting lately, so I thought I'd update you on the pieces.

Remember this thrift store find?

Well, here it is now! Sleek and black.

Aside from painting the bedroom and putting most things back, I haven't exactly decorated or done anything much in there so please excuse the boringness of this picture.

Having this type of headboard has been really nice. It did come with a footboard, but I opted not to use it. We're still using our regular metal bed frame and I've just pushed the whole bed up against the headboard. It doesn't jiggle or bump so I think that's good enough for me. I would suggest that queen beds were slightly smaller width-wise back when this headboard was made because our frame is about 3-4 inches wider than the legs on the headboard. Therefore, my idea of just screwing the headboard to the new metal frame didn't work.

I really love the storage and the ample top space for glasses and remotes and what not. Do you think it's too much to have bedside tables? I put our old ones back, but they're too short for my liking. I've got designs on buying IKEA's RAST drawers and painting them. Having them would mean more storage (we need so much storage!) and a taller surface. I'm not really keen on buying more IKEA furniture, but I've seen what lovely things other people have done with them plus they're real wood (and cheap too).

You probably don't remember this dresser. I bought it for $5 and repainted it to highlight the plaid-like wood detail. It really fit into our old house and the scheme over there, but once we moved, I almost immediately grew to hate how it looked. Plus those knobs. Oh man, what was I thinking with those stupid knobs?

Here it is now! We couldn't decide if the body should be black, so I thought I'd start with the drawers and decide after. I think that the white body gives it a more refreshing look since all of the furniture in the bedroom is black. This makes it look different but cohesive. 

I replaced the knobs with sleek silver handles that I picked up at a restoration store in Red Deer. They were a dollar each! I was also very nervous about them because I've never had to measure and drill new holes for handles before and I wanted to make sure they were all level and matching. 

Here's the trick to doing it: Make a template! I had the good fortune of having the pattern right on the drawers which meant I only had to make a template the size of the middle rectangle. I just measured a piece of paper to fit in that rectangle, figured out where the handle should go (a combo of eyeballing it and measuring), used some chalk to mark where the screws should hit, and poked holes in the paper to line up with the screw holes. Then I did a trial run where I lined my pattern up in the middle rectangle, marked the holes with chalk, set the handles on and stood back to double check that everything was even and lined up. Finally, I drilled the holes and screwed in the handles (that makes it sound super easy. Not quite. I kept buying the wrong size of screw for the handles. That part was a headache). I think it was well worth it. Not only do these handles look better, but they function better, too.

I got this dresser at IKEA a few years ago. I don't remember the name and I can't find it on their website. I guess I should have taken a before picture, but this used to be their standard dark brown colour. Painting it black helped to cover a really noticeable dent in the top drawer (I dropped a belt buckle on it and apparently that spells disaster for this type of furniture). 

You'll notice that I painted that little thrifted storage drawer yellow. I'm not 100% liking how it looks over there, and I don't like that other jewelry box (which I've always had but never used), either. I feel like I need something taller to sit on the top. I have a lot of stuff, but I don't seem to have enough decorative stuff!

The driftwood is something Idle Husband and I found on our trip to Abraham Lake. I kinda thought I might hang some of my most used necklaces off of it, but that's still in trial. I also wrapped that small portion (which was damaged a little) with yellow string, but I'm not sure I really like it (though I like that it matches the yellow ceramic drawers). What I am really loving is hanging driftwood up on walls. There's another one in the bathroom and I've stuck big branches and little twigs all over the place, in every corner. That's too much, right? That's borderline crazy.

Oh wait. You haven't seen crazy yet!

Mom gave me this corner shelving unit. It's been in her garage for almost 10 years (and this is after I cleaned it up. You should have seen the filth!).

So I painted it black (ignore the artwork in such a dumb arrangement. I used to have bookcases there so they made sense then. I'm contemplating paint colours now, so I haven't done anything else in this room as I'll be painting it soon anyway).

And then I filled it with birds. They were displaced when we moved the bookcases upstairs. That's a crazy amount of birds.

Finally, I painted this guy. My childhood horse. I've been wanting to do this for a while now because, uh... he was covered in toothpaste. I remember doing it, but I don't remember why. Maybe I wanted to clean him? Or Maybe I wanted to fill in the parts that used to be white? I don't know, but he's been like this for over 20 years. I've kept him this long because he's not just a horse, he's a horse bank! I probably shouldn't even be telling you, but he's filled with special coins. He's also very heavy.

It's surprising how easily 20 years of toothpaste comes off!

I spray painted him gold. That seemed like the right colour choice to me.

That's it for now. I'm all painted out for this week! But it's really amazing how a little bit of paint can spruce things up. It feels so fresh in here!