I promised to get you up to date on more of what I've been doing over the past several months and here goes.  As mentioned in my last post, it was a brutal winter here in South Eastern, Pennsylvania.  That gave me a lot of time to spend on Pinterest looking at hundreds of furniture makeovers inspiring me to do some of my own. And do some, I did! 

Here was my first of many projects done at Pear of Hearts Farm.  This was done in February of this year.

It's a solid maple vanity set - complete with a bench seat... I picked it up at a furniture consignment shop about 30 miles away.  It was a splurge for me at $150.  Sorry but I forgot to snap a before picture of the bench. (I'm pretty new to this blogging thing!)  The piece is very sturdy, very heavy, and has pretty lines - I especially love the turned legs.  Although it was probably made in the 1950's, it has a classic style that will go beautifully in my bedroom near my empire chest with similar turnings on the legs.

Like my pink socks?  ;)   Also, please excuse all the junk in the pictures - we had recently moved in!

Because the top of the vanity had a veneered finish which was quite chipped, I sanded it back to the bare wood. 

I just love my orbital sander.  It makes quick work of challenging jobs.





Below shows the entire top sanded down to bare wood.

The wood I found under the veneer was really lovely!  I just used Danish Oil in Cherry to bring out the beautiful grain.  I love the way it warms up the top and it goes well with my other bedroom furniture.












Next came the rest of the piece.  I decided to go with an almost black/midnight blue color that would contrast nicely with the top and with our pine floors.  I made my own version of chalk paint with flat paint from my local big box home store mixed with a little plaster of Paris and a splash of water. It was an "oops" paint that I purchased for a song!  Good thing I love the color.

 Here's the matching bench that I forgot to take a before picture of.  (And there are my washer and dryer waiting to be installed in the new house.  Thankfully they are in now!)

The home made chalk paint was such a thick lovely consistency that I only needed one coat.  Next, I distressed the paint to allow the maple to show through in selective spots and finished the entire vanity, mirror, and bench with 3 coats of wax. I found the knobs on ebay - they are fantastic.

Here is the bench completed with a fun fabric I picked up at my local fabric store.  I wasn't sure about it - but am going to live with it for a bit to see if it grows on me... It is easy enough to change if and when I choose to. Besides, we haven't gotten around to painting the bedroom yet - and I plan to go with a complimentary color.

I wanted to get a good shot of the entire piece but was too embarrassed to show my messy bedroom in the mirror's reflection! I have to learn some photography and/or styling skills to hide that - because I tend to have a lot going on in my home at any given time...


In the end, I am quite happy with the final result.  I feel special every time I sit here to do my hair and make up... which isn't often enough - as I'm a stay at home mom. (Which, by the way, is much harder than my former full time job of nearly 20 years!)