the finished product

First off – I lived the last 7 days thinking Kate got kicked off DWTS and was looking forward to not watching her temper tantrum with poor Tony. I must’ve dreamt it..
I finally finished some furniture I started refinishing. It was my first project and I really wanted to prove I could 1. complete it. 2. it look good! Not professional..pottery barn good, just good enough that it didn’t look off the street. Preston and I have mismatched bedroom furniture so I thought redoing some of the pieces could bring some unity.
I’ve been so inspired seeing all these furniture redo's online, but I started simple. Black and white. White for our bedroom and black for the guest room. The pieces were from a set given to me in college. (We have guests staying in a few weeks so we HAVE to get that room settled!) I studied up. Bought my supplies. And took the proper steps to insure success.

Prime

I used Zinsser’s 1-2-3. Worked great. (Like I know any different.) There are more priming pictures here.

Paint

I used Rustoleum Heirloom White spray paint and Valspar New Black 4011-1.

I about had a freak out when I started with the black. But I figured I have no plan for the room, so a purple nightstand wouldn’t ruin anything, right? It ended up taking 3 coats of the paint and 2 of the spray paint.

Poly

This step scared me the most. Like I said I had been reading up, and it seemed everyone had a different poly preference. I decided to go with wipe-on. It was so easy! No mess! I thought it was going to be a big goopy disaster. My two coats with a sand in between took a day. Love the wipe on.

I ended up sanding the black a little more than planned but I like the unfinished edges. It’ll go with our unfinished room. And I actually kind of love the black/navy/purple. It looks really gorgeous in the light. Not just plain ol’ black. What do you think of the knobs? I haven’t found any I love.
I know I expressed my concern about the spray paint, but I’m loving it. I’m not sure if the sanding or poly toned down the creamy-ness but I love it! Do you like these knobs? Hobby Lobby’s knobs have been half off the last week, so I got all 6 for under $20.
Now that' I’ve completed two pieces I can’t wait to start more! I need to finish the mirror. Shouldn’t take me too long. The hardest part is finding somewhere to put our clothes while painting them.
P and I had a busy weekend. He got a new mower and I (think I) finally found some throw pillows. My mom also got me this lamp we found at TJ. Had to have it. I think it will go beside the bed. On my side of course. We were also given this banquette. (iPhone photo sorry.) Preston isn’t in love like I am.. and I’m in l.o.v.e. I would like it to be used with our dining table. It has wheels. This little beauty is making me have second thoughts about my throw pillows. The red’s are way different. Is that bad, (sister)? The dining and living are pretty much the same room…maybe it’s too much red. Just as the living room starts looking like a room I’m questioning color choices. I thought we could put the banquette in the office but I think I’m getting some extra special chairs from my grandma.
P and I don’t want to have the house where furniture comes to die. But we’ve got to start somewhere! And to get started we’d rather not spend the money on furnishing the entire house. Travel and play is much more important :) I think we’re getting a armoire that was my grandma’s grandmothers..count ‘em 5 generations. And the chairs I mentioned above. Which may need a fabric redo. We’ll see!
Hope ya’ll had a good weekend!