Permission to Paint

A few years ago, my mother gave me a beautiful antique dresser. Well, it may not be a real antique (100+ years old), but it's clearly old and came from a distant relative. I love the lines and the crystal looking knobs so much that I ignored the chips on the sides and slightly raised laminate on the dresser top. For years, I used this dresser to store our cloth napkins and craft supplies. And it was good. "But not really" (name that children's book!).

Enter my love for painted furniture. I love painted furniture. Heck, I love stained furniture, when the furniture is in good shape. But alas, my poor little dresser is not in good shape. My problem was that while my mother gave me this lovely dresser, it came with strings. I was to care for this dresser as she would; read treat it well and NOT paint it! I hate furniture with strings. Sadly, I have a house full of furniture with these strings.

So, I called my mother and professed my love for the the little dresser. Then, I casually mentioned that the laminate top was lifting a bit and glue alone wasn't going to make my dresser look any better. Well, maybe it would have, but I didn't know that for sure. Finally, I flat out asked if she minded if I painted the dresser. She reluctantly said that she gave me the dresser and I can do with it whatever I want.

Before she could change her mind, I ran out to Lowe's and bought primer, paint, poly and paint brushes. Selecting a paint color was harder than I anticipated. Usually, I am fearless when selecting a paint color. I originally wanted a lovely blue or green to compliment my peacock window treatments. Then I realized that the window treatments were the focus of the room and I didn't need anything competing with them. I may or may not have polled some of my friends. So, I decided it would be between white or black. To be honest, white furniture isn't really me. I like it, especially for bedrooms, but it doesn't really fit my personality. White furniture always seems to says "light and airy" or "beachy" to me. I'm neither light nor airy. Well, maybe I'm beachy. So, black was it.

I sanded, primed and painted that little dresser in one evening. And I LOVE it. I didn't want to poly it in the house and the weather has since turned rainy, so that will have to wait. In the mean time, I've love the results. But the big question was would my mother like it. Yes, at the age of 33, I still crave my mother's approval. My mother also has excellent taste and is honest. I love that about her.

As luck would have it, my mother came for a visit within the week and ended up loving the dresser. Not only that, she complimented me on my stellar painting skills. She seemed surprised. I don't know why since I help her paint her walls all the time. So not only did I get this great looking dresser, but I also got kudos from Mom too.

So, without further adieu, my new dresser.

After seeing the after pictures, my lovely sister suggested that I paint the chairs black. While I agree that it is a great idea, painting all those spindles makes me feel less than inspired. So I think I will wait on that project. Don't you just love how one projects lead to another?

Linking up!