chest of drawers Archives - Prodigal Pieces

In DIY / Tutorials, Furniture, Home Decor, Project Gallery, Thrifted

Antique Empire Chest Refreshed

It never seems to fail that when I enter a thrift store searching for item A, I come out with items B, C, D E, F….you get the idea. So, is the solution to just not look for item A? Nah. Too much fun to run through the alphabet. hee hee. Does that happen to you? I went in looking for a chair and this is what I came out with, amongst other items. Can you blame me? I had a 35% off coupon burning a hole in my pocket. eep! Yes, this antique empire chest was meant to be mine.

However, knowing my past experiences with chests like this, I did look inside and around before purchasing. Why? Because a deal isn’t always a deal when it ends up to be a hot mess and takes more work than it’s worth. Here’s my summation Read more

Larissa

20 Comments

In Furniture, Home Decor, Project Gallery, Thrifted

Vintage Chest Makeover with Prairie Style

Do you ever find yourself wondering what it was like to live in a certain time period? One era I am sure wondering if I had what it took to survive were the days of prairie life, the 1800’s. Those folks had such determination to make it. While I sit at my desk with a screen full of comfort and ease, I sometimes ache for that simplicity. Today is Trash to Treasure Tuesday and I have a vintage chest makeover that I chose to give a touch of prairie style. Be sure to check out below for the other ladies makeovers.

At first glance you may not notice anything wrong with this chest. However, even though I noticed from the listing photo there were issues, the owner even pointed them out to me on delivery. He said it was his aunt’s chest that was a sorry sight before he got it. If you look at the top drawer, you will notice Read more

Larissa

29 Comments

In DIY / Tutorials, Furniture, Giveaways, Home Decor, Project Gallery, Repurposed

Decoupage Furniture to Add Flair

Do you ever have a piece of furniture that is lacking some pep? Sometimes it can just need a little updating and although painting will suffice, you can also decoupage furniture. What’s that you say? Let me show you what I’m talking about using this Art Deco waterfall chest as an example. AND… I have an awesome surprise for you at the end of this post!

*sidenote: While I understand some people are wood purists and chastise me for painting, I too love wood. I only paint things that won’t lose value when painted. This chest is not a high-end Art Deco piece and I know that by experience. This is a copy and thus I can change it as it suits me. PLUS, it’s mine! (end of rant – thank you. 😀 )

I found this chest on Craigslist (gotta love CL!) and in the past I have done several different things to these waterfall chests. My most popular is my BEEP. This dude was a freebie for good reason – he was a hot mess!

Larissa

129 Comments

In DIY / Tutorials, Furniture, Home Decor, Project Gallery

Distress Paint with Petroleum Jelly

Earlier this week I showed you this vintage chest of drawers and promised you a makeover. I thought it would be fun to use this piece to show you how to easily distress paint to create texture and a feel of days gone by.

This chest of drawers had me drawn in when I first spied the legs, the height, and also the rose carved border along the bottom. It didn’t originally have casters, but I grabbed a few from my stash and stuck them on – already the chest improved. The drawers have damage and the previous owner had made some repairs that I was impressed with. The top was in great shape as well, but didn’t quite match the stain of the rest because it is a veneer with a different grain.

*post contains affiliate links so you can find the products I love to use too! (see full disclosure)

You know me and my love for a wood and paint combination like I just recently did with the other chest, so I decided to give the wood a fresh look. Out comes my sander and away we go! Read more

Larissa

23 Comments

In DIY / Tutorials, Furniture, Home Decor, Kids, Project Gallery, Repurposed, Woodworking

Card Catalog from Child’s Chest of Drawers

My coined word is Trashure – one man’s trash is another woman’s treasure. I’ve been using it for ages and first debuted it a few years ago when I found a chest of drawers curbside. Well, today is Trash to Treasure Tuesday, the one day of the month where my blogger friends and I take something worn or dated and make it new. The subject for this month’s makeover is a child’s chest of drawers my daughter found sitting with the trash (aka trashure). We decided to make it into a card catalog. Yup, a whole new look. AND… I have a sweet giveaway for you too!

Here’s the story: My gaggle of kids go with me everywhere I go. Yes, even to the grocery store and all errands – we have a blast! This day in particular, as we headed out to get some food essentials, I noticed it was trash day and I turned and told the kids that today would be a good day to keep your eyes peeled for some trashure set out.

At that same exact time I was speaking, one of my daughters, Miss S, said, “Mama, there’s a dresser!” Apparently, I totally missed it as my head was turned to tell them to keep an eye out. I braked and turned around and here is what she found.

*Post is sponsored by HomeRight, product provided by D. Lawless Hardware and includes affiliate links so you can find the products I love to use too!

Isn’t it cute? It’s got some damage to the drawers, missing some of the skirt, but really not too bad. I do believe it was handmade at some point and full of charm. Now, we couldn’t let that go into the trash, could we?

I will admit, we found this last November (gulp) and I told her we would get to it as soon as I could. Well…I wasn’t lying and now is the time. Since most people don’t have use for a tiny chest of drawers – this thing is less than 3 feet tall – we decided to give it new life as a vintage card catalog.

Here’s how we got started… Read more

Larissa

177 Comments

In Furniture, Home Decor, Project Gallery

Vintage Chest Gets Modern Makeover

Each month I have fun participating in our Themed Furniture Makeovers, and this time around I’m letting my oldest son step up to the plate with his latest project piece, a vintage chest of drawers. AND…I have an awesome giveaway for you!

I totally encourage my six children to join me in my work and they are always chomping at the bit to have some fun with paint and learn a trade. When I went to pick up the primitive cupboard I just used to show you how to update old wood with stain, the lady also offered us this vintage chest. My furniture lovin’ self could have taken it as my own, but I offered it to my son and he chose to purchase it. (he knows to bring his wallet along when mama is on an adventure. hee hee)

It solid as a rock and it took us a great amount of effort to get it down her narrow, twisting flight of stairs. Oh, the stories we have! Read more

Larissa

68 Comments

In DIY / Tutorials, Furniture, Home Decor, Project Gallery, upholstery

Bedroom Set ~ A Vintage Reunion

Do you ever have one of those moments where your jaw drops and you are amazed how a certain event in life could have happened? I mean, you think, “what are the chances…?” I had one of those in my past with a bedroom set that left me giddy.

Today and for the rest of this month every Tuesday, my Trash to Treasure girlfriends and I are digging into the archives for some makeover goodness for you. Check out the end of this post for their projects, and you can see last week’s makeover here.

Best of Trash to Treasure Transformations | Prodigal Pieces | www.prodigalpieces.com

The story begins… A certain couple was selling off several pieces of furniture, 5 to be exact, for $20 a piece…a piece! One was a Broyhill Brasilia credenza, and a few other chests of drawers. You just can’t beat Craigslist for being able to peruse furniture & other goodies right in front of your eyes in the comfort of your own home. I love finding a steal. Let’s face it, it’s an online treasure hunt.

So, of course I bought them all. (ahem) I’m not exactly sure they were all a perfect fit, but most had awesome potential! Included in this lot was an antique cherry vanity that just needed a little love.

Vintage Cherry Vanity Before | Prodigal Pieces | www.prodigalpieces.com

My favorite feature is the mirror that is mounted on a rail that adjusts to suit your sitting height. This vanity sat in my garage for a couple of months until that jaw-dropping moment came.

I stopped by a local garage sale on my way home with 5 kids in tow (see, I told you this was from the archives…I now have 6!) You know how it goes, I wasn’t really planning to stop, and there they were, a matching chest of drawers and dresser with mirror!! EEK! I couldn’t believe my eyes and tried not to look too obvious, but they were for a ridiculous price and I quickly made the purchase before anyone could beat me.

Larissa

18 Comments

In Uncategorized

BEEP II Auction and Redeeming Furniture Giveaway

Are you ready to get this party started? I am!

If you’re just joining in, let me catch you up to speed. I have a thang for Volkswagen stuff, and have found a niche in creating VW buses out of Art Deco waterfall chests. Because my first BEEP was such a hit, I have decided to auction off BEEP II (full details on my work HERE) with the proceeds going to Samaritan’s Purse, a disaster and medical relief organization dedicated to spreading the word of God while providing so much more.

The other awesome part of this is that I get to give one of you $350 worth of prizes that will help you rock a furniture project of your own. Shazaam! Read more

Larissa

87 Comments

In Furniture, Giveaway, Home Decor, Project Gallery

Volkswagen Bus Chest – BEEP Christmas Version

Exciting things are about to happen! I have been waiting for this day for such a long time. I have also been praying that this would as much of a blessing to you as it is to me. Before I get to my announcement, I would like to show you my latest project. Back in August I created BEEP – my garage sale freebie turned Volkswagen Bus.

Little did I know how BEEP would make such waves in the internet world and be showcased in blogs around the globe. It’s been an exciting ride! He’s been going viral again thanks to some new features by enormous businesses that I believe were not coincidental, but providential.

Here’s why….enter in a second Art Deco waterfall chest of drawers found on Craigslist.

Larissa

46 Comments

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