In early May, Hubby traveled back to New England to visit with his folks and work on a blueberry “fort” for his mom–dang those pesky birds! I don’t typically look forward to him leaving, but this time I could hardly wait to drive him to the airport. I had plans to work on a project I’d been itching to tackle since shortly after Christmas, but I wanted it to be a surprise, so couldn’t start until he was gone.

I dropped him off at the local airport early Saturday morning. A few short hours later, I’d pulled out the drop cloths (old tablecloths) and got to work…on my mahogany bedroom bureau.

Yes, that’s dust on the surface. I have two friends who read these posts and who each keep their houses spotless. I can imagine the looks of horror on their faces at seeing the state of my bureau. 😉

When Kreh and I were first married, eighteen years ago now, we received much of our initial furniture from a good friend’s grandmother when she was moving into assisted living. Through that family’s generosity, we were able to outfit (and thus move into) our little attic apartment with bedroom, living, and dining room furnishings mere days after returning from our honeymoon. A huge blessing for newlyweds who hadn’t lived on their own up to that point.

Over the years, we’ve replaced several items. We bought a new bedframe when we moved to Colorado in 2002. Upon moving to Nebraska in 2003, we bought a bigger couch and matching glider at auction. Before moving to Montana in 2008, we replaced the dining chairs. And the mahogany coffee table now resides at Hubby’s office.

We have yet to replace our bedroom bureau and dresser, however. Mostly because of cost. Someday it might happen (we’d like to match whatever comes in with the cherry-stained sleigh bed we currently have), but after Hubby saw the relative success I had in redoing the mahogany sideboard, he’d uttered the words I’d been hoping to hear for a while: “When are you going to do the bureaus in the bedroom?”

Sideboard makeover

Swoon!

I had ten days to complete my bureau and matching mirror before he returned. Sounds like plenty of time, but since I was pulling both mommy and daddy duty that week and a half, shuffling kids hither, thither, and yon, I only had school hours to work on it…plus I was committed to writing a certain number of words each day for a writing challenge. I succeeded in both, but the makeover took all ten days—and the master bedroom, being the temporary “workshop,” was a mess in the meantime. 😉

Here’s my process in a nutshell:

I used Bulls Eye 1-2-3 for the primer. It claims to have “outstanding adhesion to dense, glossy surfaces such as enamel paints and varnishes, paneling, laminates…” but so far, I’m still at a loss for a successful primer that won’t get knocked away (taking the paint with it) at the slightest bump. I used Valspar Warm Putty and Indigo Streamer in satin for the colors (along with tiny brushes for the indigo), and I’m very pleased with that outcome. And I used my trusty Mod Podge to adhere the fabric onto the drawer fronts. Lastly, I changed out the hardware, going with rounded square cabinet knobs from Amazon. Love them!

The mirror was the tricky piece, with the scrollwork and different surface levels, and I had a tough time figuring out how much blue accents I wanted. In the end, I think it came out perfectly balanced (IMO). 😉 Again, tiny brushes and a steady hand! (And if you’re wondering why the mirror-before-paint is hiding behind the door…it was the only angle that wouldn’t reflect my cluttered room in the background!)

After

Hubby loved the makeover–as I hoped he would–so the plan is to work on his dresser and the matching bedside tables over the summer. We’ll see how far I get, heh heh. Considering my children’s second semester of school zoomed past in a blur, I know this summer has the potential for speed. No blinking!

How about you? Have you been able to tackle any spring projects since the weather has warmed up? Do you have grand summer plans ahead you hope to accomplish? Share in the comments below!

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