"Pinspired" Project #1: Vanity Dresser

     Since I was a teenager, I have wanted a vanity dresser in my bedroom--I've always imagined myself brushing out my hair in front of a huge mirror while perched upon a velvety footstool, no doubt wearing a filmy pink peignoir and slippers trimmed in marabou.  A couple years ago, I finally found one that was within my budget on Craigslist.  For a mere $50, I purchased this rough beauty, in which I could see a lot of potential to be coaxed out:

Not visible in these pictures is the graceful bow of the round vanity mirror, as I had to take it off to get the dresser safely home in the truck.  The woman I bought it from said it used to be her daughter's dresser, and that explained why there was something that looked like a cross between an angel and the Little Mermaid painted onto the center bridge and shellacked over with glitter glue.

 The hardware and handles were tarnished and rusted almost through.  I had the vague idea that I would  strip, sand, and refinish the whole piece, and I bought some of the supplies to do so, but lack of an outdoor workspace meant I left the whole project to languish for over a year.

Then, this past spring, I was introduced to Pinterest by a friend.  I began pinning in earnest, and along the way found many examples of painted furniture, complete with instructions on how to achieve good results without having to strip or sand off the existing finish.  Armed with this knowledge, I headed to Home Depot to exchange my previously-purchased supplies for a small can of a miracle primer called Zinsser Bullseye 1-2-3, a small foam roller kit, and at another retailer, I got a small can of "oops!" paint for half price that turned out to be a gorgeous, milky gray.   I followed the instructions on the can of primer to the letter, allowed proper time between coats for drying, and within the space of a three-day weekend, I achieved the results below:

 Part of the dresser could not be simply scuffed with steel wool and painted over, however, as it had a patch of chipped veneer.  Inspired by the Art Deco lines of the dresser, pieces I've coveted in designer magazines and furniture showrooms, and the color of the new paint, I decided to cover the chipped area with a small mirror mosaic, and to repeat the mosaic in the same place on the other 'leg' of the dresser.

 Once more aided by advice via Pinterest, I measured the areas on both sides to be covered, carefully purchased supplies from a craft store and set about carefully applying large and small mirror squares.  I came up with the idea to use an old debit card from an account at a now-nonexistent bank to evenly scrape the adhesive onto every single tile, as well as onto the dresser itself, as the two tacky surfaces are then pressed together.

I will reveal the finished mosaic and vanity in a later post about my bedroom redecoration, but I am extremely proud of how the project turned out every time I look at my new vanity.  Now to find a matching gray pair of those satin slippers . . . 

--Kelli