Before, During and After

I have been searching Craigslist for the last 3 months or so looking for the perfect piece of furniture to go in my entryway. It couldn't be too big....and it couldn't be too small. It had to be just right. I looked at pieces like this.....

And a lot like this.....
A few like this.....
Until I found this picture. I loved the color and size of this piece. I loved the drawers and the cupboards too. It has a pretty skirt at the bottom and nice legs. Now if I could just find one in my price range. I didn't want to pay a fortune for this.....after all I would probably definitely be painting it. I looked in thrift stores and on Craigslist for months, until one day.....
This baby was posted on Craigslist a mere 20 minutes from my house. I called on it right away as I was just sure that she was perfect. I traded my car to Jim for the use of his trusty pick-up for the day and set out. When I got to the swank neighborhood that mapquest guided me too, I was afraid I'd been led astray. Usually family heirlooms like this, in "hoods like this, were out of my price range for sure. Luckily I was wrong. I found the house and was led in and introduced to Ivy. Yes, I've named her. She was sitting in a corner of a HUGE dinning room and looked quite happy to see me. The couple that was readying themselves to part with sweet Ivy was really cute. See, they were moving to Denver and didn't have room in their new place for such a treasure AND the hubby informed me that it just didn't "go with their place". OK....and score for me then. They had already turned down one buyer who wanted to "ruin the integrity of the piece" and turn my Ivy into a bathroom vanity, complete with a sink. Gasp! "No way!" I said in an offended voice. Who on earth would want to change such a perfect piece of furniture as this? Of course I fully intended on making Ivy over to help her to fit in with my other furniture finds....but I wasn't about to tell Mr. & Mrs. Scarypants that. Oh no, my friends....I wanted Ivy for my own. So of course when they told me of their trip to pick up Ivy from his Grandma's house back in the 60's I was respectfully impressed. I even wished them well as we loaded up my prize.
Of course upon getting Ivy home the first thing to go were these ugly priceless dingleberry drawer pulls. You don't even want to know what my 17 year old daughter compared them too. I blush just thinking about it! Who taught her to think for herself anyway.....curses.....Under the dreaded dingleberries there were the old locks. They didn't work with the skeleton key that came with Ivy (it works on the doors though!) so I didn't feel bad about covering them up again.
As I started to clean Ivy and prep her for paint....I did start to worry. What if I mess up this beautiful piece of furniture. After all Mr. & Mrs. Scarypants said it is solid burled walnut....crap. So I went to consult a professional. There is a store in my town, Weathered and Worn. It is the most amazing Mecca of vintage and new that any girl has a right to behold in one dwelling. I called upon Sue, master furniture painter. She told me (for a very reasonable fee) that she would paint my treasure and I'd not have to stress out over it. We agreed that a warm white with a dark top would indeed be heavenly and I left her to it. She took the doodads off the front of the doors. I am thinking about using them on the sides.....
The next day I got a call from Sue who informed me that it wasn't solid walnut, but a nice thick veneer. Still worthy of the price I paid but not so precious that a little paint would ruin some one's eternal peace. So she continued on....and she did a wonderful job. She left the door pulls on, thinking the wood knobs would do it for me....Not so much. I bought a couple to try and settled on the round knob from The Big Orange Store.
Jim is even coming around. To him....you don't buy old junk and you NEVER paint a nice wood piece of furniture. But truth be told....he is starting to like Ivy...really, he is.
I think she was worth all the time and effort searching and the price paid for the final result was worth every penny.
She has some beautiful flaws "character additions" that are still visible and I love them.
She is holding her age just as well as before. But she has gone from a piece of furniture that I liked a lot, to one that I will be passing on to my grandchildren one day. She is sturdy and beautiful....
One last reminder of before.....
And Ivy in all her newness. What a gem!