Vanity rehab!

HOLLA HOLLA FOR A DOLLAH!

I have been on a DIY hiatus due to life... you know, teaching the kids, teaching more kids, having no $$... the usual. Now that it is SUMMER, expect more posts due my excessive amounts of free time.

Anyways, my father dearest is a hoarder... typical. He always gets random items from work (no, he doesn't steal them). Normally he takes the most horrendously ugly things, but for once, he got something kinda cool.

EXHIBIT A: The retro desk

I did not take a proper "before" shot, but it was a neat little vintage desk.  It was painted an off-white with light blue trim.

THE PLAN:

1. Sand
2. Repaint a fresh, crisp white
3. (GET READY FOR IT) Re-face the front of the drawer with damask print wallpaper
4. Get a new knob (the original fell off)

THE PLAN IN ACTION:

Not exactly as I had planned... per usual.

So I went to this wallpaper warehouse in North Chelmsford to check out some wallpapers and I found a bunch of cool ones.  I wanted something damask or vintage-y looking, as long as it was black and white.

However, you cannot purchase samples/small amounts of wallpaper. The sales clerk FIRMLY stated this many times, despite telling her the details of my project.  WOMP WOMP. If you want wallpaper, you have to buy a DOUBLE roll... so I would have had to pay $25 for a 12" x 2" section. Not worth it.

My "brilliant" idea? Wrapping paper! I shot over to Target and bought some pretty damask wrapping paper from the wedding isle.  Woohoo! (Side note: I promise I will quit it with the damask prints... I am reaching a damask print overload in my bedroom, but I promise it all works together!)

Then MORE brilliant ideas flew into my head: Why not top the vanity with the paper too? And put some glass down on top to keep it clean and undamaged? OH YEAHHH.  I headed on over to Lowes and got a piece of glass cut to fit the top of the vanity (Lowes cuts glass for FREE! I like anything free!). I also picked up a nice glass knob and some wallpaper glue.

Ok, time to get to work. The sanding and painting was easy (OBVIOUSLY I'M A PROFESSIONAL NOW... DUH) but the wrapping paper turned out to be a bit tricky...

As it turns out, wrapping paper does not work like wallpaper.  Wallpaper is meant to get wet, wrapping paper is not. So, my first attempts to attach the wrapping paper with the wallpaper glue resulted in a bubbly, ripped mess.  Oops.  I finally figured out that if I only used a TINY bit of glue, the paper would stick, but not get all warped. GO ME.

After placing the glass down and attaching the knob, I was done:

Check out that knob!

The vanity in its true habitat:

I'm in love! Now I have a one-of-a-kind vanity! All for the low price of $28.00!!! #winning

-desk: free (thanks, Dad)
-wallpaper: $4
-glue: $6
-knob: $4
-glass: $13
-paintbrush: $1
-paint: free (already had some!)
-sandpaper: also free (had some of that too!)

Baller status.

WHAT I LEARNED:

-Lowes cuts glass for free!
-Dad's hoarding is sometimes okay
-wrapping paper does not function like wallpaper
-wallpaper cannot be purchased in small amounts
-I can spend an un-Godly amount of time staring at knobs at the hardware store.



Peace out, cubscout.