Dumpster Diving

I am SO happy that Michelle is now here, and living right around the corner.  She called the other night and asked if I might have an interest in dumpster diving.  Ummm....YES.  We went over to the dumpster to find old school furniture that was going to be carted away.  Thankfully, our husbands were champs and went back to retrieve two pieces for each of us!  We each ended up with a cubby unit and a bookshelf.  They all need some work...but that makes it more fun, right?  (If I keep saying that enough I will believe it....right???)

Here are the pieces that made it into my garage...

The bookshelf needs some work, but I dig the casters...

I love wondering about the students that I am assuming wrote on this piece...

And...the cubby!!  I wasn't sure about the pegboard - if I was more patient, I may have pulled it off and put some plywood on the back; however, I'm not :)  And, part of me likes it.  Michelle thought this might work for the nursery, and she was right!

Free piece....finally done.

So, several months back, we picked up a free buffet and hutch from craigslist.  I gave the top away and kept the bottom with the intention of painting it and moving it to the basement to serve as storage for toys.  I started working on it a month ago, and slowly but surely, it is now done.  First, I worked on the hardware.  Then, I sanded...washed...then primed...A LOT.  I did at least four coats of primer.  Then, I moved onto painting the inside gold (more to come on me and gold paint), and then painted the outside with three coats of glossy white.

It didn't come out as nicely as I had hoped...
1.  Once again, the whole time I was thinking that I wish I had a paint gun - although, I hear mixed reviews on those too.  Anyone have thoughts on them??  But...of course, as always, I have lots of botched spots/drips, etc.  I always thought I was a perfectionist...now, I am starting to wonder.

2.  The white paint seems to be a little yellowy in spots - especially on the doors.  Not sure why.

3.  The doors are having a hard time shutting.  I am not sure if it is because of the 7 new coats of primer/paint, humidity, or how I put the doors back on.  Either way, I will try to use some pledge or gulf wax to see if I can get them to open/close a little more easily.

But...for free plus a little labor...I am very happy!  Now, I just feel like I need some nice colorful curtains to soften up the cinderblock basement walls!!

Okay, enough rambling, Meghan!  Onto the before...

After (need to get some better shots):

Hardware Clean Up

So, I never realized that the free piece we got off craigslist several months ago could take me as long as it did to get cleaned up/painted.  First, I tackled the hardware.  It was brass hardware that had basically turned almost black over time.

The piece before I started taking it apart...

Before:

Just like I did with the red desk, I used a mixture of vinegar and table salt to clean the brass up.  I don't know how much of each I used, but I basically filled a 9x13 glass pan with enough vinegar to cover the hardware and then I put a decent amount of salt in....maybe 1/8 cup?   I let it soak for a while, but it still wasn't looking as bright and shiny as I wanted it to.  I decided, since this piece was free and not 'precious' to me, I would use an SOS pad to help me get some of the grime/tarnish off of the hardware.

After - sorry for the bad night time shot...it really is amazing how normal household products can have such amazing results!