making progress

My scrap area a couple of years back during a re-do. It's time for another major overhaul!

I've gone quiet again but it's all in the name of progress and reorganization. Not quite sure where to start. They it's best to begin at the beginning...

During April I tore apart my scrap area with the best intentions of purging and re-vamping. I haven't done a major reorganization of my work area for about two years and things had gotten quite out of order in that time. It was taking longer to find things and generally less fun to create in my out-of-sorts arrangement. I guess I was a little naive about how much I could reasonably do in one month especially since I had classes at the end of the month and in early May. I did manage to purge a lot during April, but unfortunately the project had to be abandoned mid-way. So, all I really managed was the "tearing apart" portion of the project but didn't quite finish the "putting it right" part.

Two months is too long to leave a project like this in limbo! I was finally able to roll my sleeves back up over Memorial Day weekend. I was so glad that it wasn't too hot that weekend because I found myself re-finishing an old sideboard/buffet. I had picked this little beauty up at a thrift store about 2 or 3 years ago for this exact purpose --storage in my scrap area. I can't believe it's taking this long for me get this thing finished.

Here are some pics. First a "before" shot. This is a cherry buffet that was sold with a big hutch, that I didn't really care for so it never left the store --I re-donated it when I bought the unit. One thing that I really loved on this piece was the hardware.

Even tho this thing is super old, it has a classic, timeless feel to me.

Sadly after two years in our covered (but not enclosed) patio this piece of furniture took a bit of a beating from the elements. My hubby and son undertook the un-fun task of sanding the whole piece down and then they added a couple of coats of white primer. We used a white primer which might seem like an odd choice, but there is a method to my madness. This baby was gonna get a distressed finish just like the one on the desk I re-finished a few years back. Since the desk was originally white, that is what shows through in the distressed areas and I wanted this sideboard to match.

Here's a look at the desk:

This desk with hutch sits in the corner.

Here's the sideboard with the primer and beginnings of the black finish

Voila! The finished piece in place in my scrap area

Some of what's hiding inside the drawers and cabinets
(click on the pic for a close-up)

If you've got super keen eyesight you might have noticed that the hardware I loved is not on this piece any longer. I guess it was so old and so unhappy with being stored outside that it just gave up. The (metal) handles were crumbling when we tried to re-attach them. Fortunately I was able to find some I liked at Target without too much trouble (whew!)

Even though I feel like I've made some great progess, I still have a lot to do (mostly purging) , but at least I can see the light at the end of the tunnel at last.