How I Learned to Stain From An Ugly Office Credenza

I found an old ugly office credenza at Goodwill for $9.99.  I brought it home and it was ugly, I mean really ugly and worn out with sun spots and water damage, but still it had good bones.  It was sturdy and practical so I used it for several months as a work table in my garage.  Pulling out dresser drawers to sand and paint, the ugly office credenza was just what I need to put them on.  The height was perfect.  You can imagine after several months, it looked even worse, covered in paint, scratches and more.

Until, I had a gentleman come to look at another piece of furniture I had in my garage, but “I really need something for my home office with file drawers.  Do you have anything like that?”

“I do have this old thing,” I said, pointing out the ugly office credenza in the back of the corner.  I kicked at the base like a used car salesman kicks at the tire of a lemon car.  The gentleman pushed on the ugly office credenza and tinkered around for a minute, opening each drawer and I could tell he was wondering how such a junky piece of furniture could ever become what he needed in his home office.

Finally, he said "I think this could work, I like it."

“I could paint it what ever color you prefer,” I suggested, but he cut me off.

“I’m colorblind, so I’m really not into picking out any specific color.  Can you stain it back to its natural wood?”

I am a people pleasure through and through.  If you asked me to make pecan pie out of egg noodles, I’d try it just to please you.  It’s just my nature.

So, I said yes, knowing all to well I’ve never stained a piece of furniture in my life, let alone an old worn-out painted over piece of junk like this credenza.

Still, a promise is a promise and I told him it would be done by the end of the day because I had nothing else to do but take care of my kids, work on about 10 other projects and clean my house.

I started by sanding off the paint from about a dozen different projects.  It’s funny how spray paint flies.  I was sanding off paint even on the bottom drawers.  I cursed the fact that this piece of furniture was so dirty from my own demise.  Regardless, I worked away and finally remove the gloss to find the wood (so sorry I don't have a before picture, but I never thought this piece of furniture would be blog worthy).

Bri-wax, elbow grease and self-determination and I had the most beautiful piece of wood furniture I’ve ever seen.  

I even spray painted the brassy chipped up sun-faded fixtures black.

I can’t believe this is what was hiding underneath decades of wear.

I really shocked myself.

I called the gentleman back to tell him his credenza was ready and it was gorgeous.  I was ready to start bragging, to go on and on about its transformation.  

"You can come pick it up anytime," I said with the same enthusiasm my 4 year-old son had demonstrated earlier in the day when he finished building a Lego tower.  I was somewhere between disbelief and gloating.

“Sorry, I found another one and already purchased it.”

(Yeah, that whole part was a bummer and a bad ending to this story.)

Still, I thanked him for suggesting it be restored because I am love with staining furniture.

Here it goes on craigslist and let’s hope I get some interest in it, although I'm very fond of it and could look at it and sigh with disbelief for another few days.

The Perfect Dresser

Ugly dresser 

turned super hip with a little help.

Black paint never ceases to amaze me.
This dresser is already sold.

Old desk 

painted to look new again.

This desk sold in a flash.
This dresser I found this weekend needs nothing done to it.

No paint, no touch up, no make-over.

Because it's perfect as-is.

She's an antique, 80 inches long and weighs a ton!

I found this beauty at a garage sale in an old part of town.  I've never seen a more beautiful piece of furniture.

I paid a small fortune for it, but I think a small fortune can be made from selling it too.

Perfect dresser, I'd like you to meet craigslist.com.

Let's see what happens.
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My favorite garage sale find? A wig box.

I haven’t been garage sale shopping for weeks and weeks.  With a husband who works most Saturdays, it’s a bit overwhelming to consider taking care of all 5 kids, let alone running around to garage sales.  When the weather cools and every community is having large rummage sales and just a run to the grocery store I'll encounter 20 yard sale signs along the way, it’s easy to see why Saturday mornings I go through shopping withdrawals.  So, this Saturday, with the counselor home, I asked if he’d watch the kids so I could go have some fun.

My first 20 minutes out, I found this crazy huge credenza for $10.00.  This beauty is 98 inches long.   I’m not certain if I’ll paint it or not, but I already listed it on craigslist.

I found Eden a Madame Alexandra doll of her very own for $10.00. 

My favorite find was this vintage suitcase for $5.00.  I laughed out loud when I zipped it open.  It’s a wig box, mannequin and brush included. 

This little dresser was $10.00.  I can't wait to paint it up, maybe a robin's egg blue.

The antique church pew was $20.00.  I think this will go down to the shop at QcumberZ.

Vintage tamborine?  Why not.  Teather ball new in box?  Why yes, thank you.  Vintage clock radio and game all $1.00 each.

Retro bar stool for $2.00.  Love it.

This chair with the original fabric is very Anthropologie and for $10.00, I'm certain I can flip it for a profit.

Note to self:  Never run into to Costco while the car is full of yard sale finds.  It got very crowded in here.

Shopping trash on Saturday was busy, so Eden and I took it easy Sunday morning, browsing the latest Anthropologie catalog.

I loved the great clothes, but Eden loved looking at the chicken and horses.

Something’s were meant to be white

Something’s have to be white, like:

A white Snowmen, or should I say snow person, I do want to be politically correct.

White Marshmallows, but not always.

White Paper, for printing off a resume or research paper.

If a white shirt isn’t crisp white, I don’t want it anymore.  Nothing’s worse then a dingy white shirt.

A White wedding dress.

An angel's White wings.

What about this beautiful Armoire with the French curvy legs?

I love it.

I listed it on craigslist as-is, but not a single call.

The moment I first laid eyes on it at the thrift store, I new it was meant to be white.  I could see it in my mind.  I would be the one to bring this piece of trash to its potential, to make it shine and reach its glory.

I used an heirloom white (Kelly's favorite), a creamy white with a hint of ivory.

A bit of distressing and I loved how it turned out.

I’ve re-listed it on craigslist and I’m curious to see if it sells now that it's painted white.

Now, this amazing retro credenza is such a funky piece of furniture, but is it meant to be white?

A client of mine wanted to purchase it and she requested I paint it a white.

A few days later, she changed her mind and no longer wanted it because she didn’t have the room, but I still thought I’d paint it white and use it in my living room.  

It seemed like a great idea.
White paint makes everything look better, right?

Mid-century furniture does not look good painted white.

No, no, no.
Mid-century furniture does not look good when it's distressed and stained.

I'm not sure what it is, but the white seems to wash it out.  It's no longer funky, it's calming and that's not the direction I wanted to go with this.
This credenza begs for a color that's loud and in your face.
What do you think?

I’m a bit worn-out to re-do it.

My mother-in-law came over and looked at it.  I asked her advice.  She told me furniture was not white in the 1950's because the 1950's were about rock n' roll.
What color is rock n' roll anyway?  I wonder.

Maybe next year I’ll paint it some funky mint green or a jazzy blue.

So, what about this antique wood cabinet?

What color should I paint it?  

How I Made Money to take my family to Disneyland.

After I had my 3^rd child in 2005, I had some weight to lose.  

I’ve always been self-conscious about my weight, but it took being 25 pounds over weight to realize I should’ve appreciated what I had when I had it.  All those years I thought I was fat, I really wasn’t.  

So before I even started dieting, I was already burned out, but I knew I had to do something.  I had read that if you eat grapefruit first thing in the morning, it can really boost your metabolism, burn fat and reduce your appetite.  With 10 full-grown grapefruit trees in my yard, I thought I’d give this grapefruit thing a try.  

To my delight, I lost a couple of pounds the first week.  It only takes a little success for me to stay motivated, so I thought I’d do yoga everyday as well.  I found a Gaiam Yoga DVD at a yard sale for .50 cents and I was ready to get started.  

The instructor, on the beach in Hawaii at sunrise, walked me through a 30 minute full-body stretch workout.  It felt so good, but after the first week my body ached.  

How could such simple stretches that felt so good actually make me sore?  

The motions seemed so gentle, but they really worked my body out.  I memorized the yoga workout and continued to do it every day for six months and lost all my weight.  In the summer heat, my grapefruits had dried up and I slowly stopped doing yoga.  At this point, the workout was so easy; it almost didn’t seem worth my time.

Fast forward a few years. 

My 5^th child just turned one and once again, I need to lose some weight, so I broke out that old yoga DVD, thinking I’d just pick up where I left off.

I was wrong.

I’m so sore; I look like I’ve been riding on horseback for the last week.  Not to mention, when I start I have a three-year old little boy jumping on me any chance he gets.

Sometimes something that seems so easy is only easy because we’ve practiced and over time have become really good at it.

That’s how selling trash has become to me.  

What once was hard, what once made me dizzy, what once I questioned as something that could make me serious money is now something I look forward to everyday.  It's so easy for me to stay motivated because I have success along the way.

I recently went to Disneyland.  The vacation, which I will post about tomorrow, was amazing, but so was earning the money before we left.  I loved the whole process.  It was so much fun.

Some of my best sales I had while earning money for Disneyland are as follows:

I found this beat up credenza at the thrift store.  

It's huge and over 70 inches long.  

Because of the condition it was in, I almost didn't buy it, but I'm taking more risks and my buying confidence has really grown.  I have an electric sander and some dark stain.  It took about 20 minutes to sand down and re-stain. It sold before I had the chance to take the after-photo of it.  The person who purchased it from me loved it and even emailed me later to say it fit perfect in her home as a window seat.  

I just love a happy customer.  

When I saw this piece of furniture, I knew I had to have it.  The woodwork is amazing.

To say this thing is rustic is an understatement.  It looks like it should be in a cathedral.

It sold to a woman who drove all the way up from Tucson. That's a two-hour drive.  Not only did she by this buffet, but she also say this trunk in my garage and purchased it as well.

This rocking chair was in bad shape when I brought it home, but for a $10.00 purchase price I knew I could flip it for a profit.

It didn't sell when it looked like this-

So I painted it like this!

After sanding it down and spraying in black, it sold right away.

I took a chance with this entry/sofa table.

It's solid wood and has amazing woodwork, but it looks like something hot spilled and burned into it.

This was a job for my sander.  A little black paint and it sold within a few days for a great profit.

I think the biggest obstacle that comes with selling trash is storage.  I have to move furniture fast or I run out of space.  I keep my prices low so I can move my inventory fast.

This cubby shelf is made by Jonti-Craft.  After looking this company up on-line, I realized I had a really nice item.  It took some creative marketing because I don't know who's looking for a cubby shelf on craigslist.  I listed it under bookshelf/rack.  It took a few weeks, but it finally sold to a very excited mother looking for some extra storage.

Buying trash is a mind game, like with this rustic Mexican chandelier.  I wasn't sure if I could find a buyer, but the price was right so I bought it.  When I find something cheap enough, it's worth the risk.  I know vintage chandeliers with the diamond tear-drop glass are all the rave, but what about rustic?  I listed it and had multiple calls.  That was easy and now I know!

I've already been thrifting today looking for my next big find.  Now, I’m off to do more yoga, that is if I can stand up from this computer chair!
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