The Long Awaited Mystery Project

Some of you will remember the above photos from THIS post. I promised to post on the finished project and (as expected) had no one guess correctly what this is or what it is for. I can't keep you in the dark forever though so I will tell you. It is this fancy invention called Iron On Veneer. Pretty nifty stuff actually. Has anyone guessed what this post is going to be about yet?

The suspense is killing me.

A while back Aren and I purchased two of these crazy night tables from 1996. The sticker on the back even says they were made in Canada (which means they are pretty old since I don't think much MDF furniture is made here anymore. Correct me if I am wrong). Well obviously they are not quite in keeping with the decor of my house. The gold plastic on the edges was a bit too much for me in all honesty. I saw the potential in the set right away though and we snapped them up for a mere $7 (for both).

Good thing too since I had to buy veneer, paint and hardware to finish the fixup which brought the cost up a bit.

 The black paint was roughed up a bit with sandpaper and the plastic strips removed from the sides. Aren helped me with placing the veneer. I ironed and he pressed it down with a piece of 1x2. It is very simple to work with and really gave a professional finish to the (recently) raw edges. 

It was super hot out while we were doing this and the iron didn't cool us down one bit. I was worried the glue wouldn't set well outside but it worked out fine. You can see the smooth edge of the shelf now - it looks a lot better than it did before! While this was happening I removed the old hardware and the rest of the gold trim from the drawers. Next I sanded them slightly and started to give them the first coat of paint. I wiped the drawers and shelves with a damp cloth before painting to ensure there would be no residual sawdust to get stuck in the paint.Once the veneer had set, I sanded the edges and began to paint those pieces of the night table as well.

And here you have one of the side tables fully transformed! I think they turned out fabulously. The hardware gives it a quainter look and I like the smooth sleek lines of the piece now. In the background of the photo above you can see that I was working on some other painting at the table in between coats on the shelves. Busy busy busy! I am going to share with you a few photos of the night tables now that they have been placed in our room - they work wonderfully.

One on either side of the bed. A few of you may recognize the lamp from THIS post on revitalizing a lamp. I can't take credit for the beautiful quilt on the bed. My youngest sister made it as a wedding gift for my husband and I. She is such a sweetheart and I absolutely adore it! I am still working on finishing up my own quilt which I started HERE, and I promise to keep you all posted.

Another view of the bedroom. I don't have a headboard anymore that I like so we are doing without. One of these days I am sure I will find something that tickles my fancy and then it will be too expensive so I will have to recreate it. If this happens I will post a how-to on making a headboard. If YOU have a how to on making a headboard and think I would like it please leave a comment about it. It could help me in my search for the perfect one.

These are a couple of closeups on the finished night stands. The little nightlight is from Ikea - I think it is so fun! We have a red one on the other night table.

The cute little hat on display was purchased in Thailand. It is part of the traditional Akha costume. This is a baby sized hat - which even though I have no children is super adorable.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing this project and that it inspires you to see the new life in an old piece of furniture. It can be hard sometimes to see the potential in something when you first see it lying forlorn on the grass in someones front yard. Train yourself to look and see what CAN be not what IS. Of course I would love to hear from you on what types of creative things you have been doing OR links to pictures of upcycled furniture you yourself have created.

Take care!