MY FIRST PIECE OF FURNITURE

I’ve been complaining about lack of storage space at home for some time. I wanted to buy 'something' but I wasn't sure what. The only thing I knew was that I didn't want to spend a lot of money. That’s why I found what I needed it in a local thrift store. I found a solid pine chest at a very good price, but the owners (I guess) varnished it, and I didn't like it. But I liked the shape (very simple) and the size was perfect, not too big, not too small. It’s true that it had some minor scratches and the key was lost, but I wasn't going to use it anyway. So I decided to buy it, thinking that it could be a fun DIY project, and it was!

This is the first piece of furniture that I have done, and I have to confess that although I'm not unhappy with the result, I may change it a little bit soon. But as I finished it a couple of weeks ago I decided that it was time to show it to you.

So here is a pic of it when we bought it.

One thing that I learned is that when you do the ‘before and after pics’ it's better to take them in the same place with the same angle and/or zoom. I know, it's a very logical thing, but I didn't realize it until I went through all the pics! So I apologize for this little mistake. Anyway, I know how I have to do it next time (I'm happy because I think it would be a next time!)

So what I did was to sand it a little bit, then put the primer. I applied it, let it dry and then applied the primer one more time.

Then I painted it. I used a foam roller for the big-flat areas (top, back, lateral sides) and a small foam brush for the small areas (handles, corners...). I applied several layers of paint; in fact the result after the first one didn’t match at all the final color. I chose this mustard yellow that, in my opinion, turned out pretty nice.

The top was the most damaged part. It had several scratches, I know that I could have fixed them filling them with wood filler but I also wanted to have a different top, so I didn't do it. Instead I bought a very nice fabric and foam padding. I have to confess that my sewing skills are nonexistent, but I have a great glue gun that did a perfect job. I just cut the fabric and wrap the foam padding as if it was a gift. Then glued it with the glue gun, and so far so good :).
So here is how it looks now.

I know that is not perfect, but to be my first project with furniture it's ok, don't you think so? Now I want to give it a distressed look, I'm sure it would look much better that way. But to be honest, I don't know when I'll find the time to do it and I really needed the storage space, so for now it would stay like that!