Covet Collective: A Thrifty Week - Day 3

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

A Thrifty Week - Day 3 - The Plan

After you have hunted for and found that piece that speaks to you, you need a plan for it. Will it fit into your home as is, or does it need a little DIY love?

If you are like me, you love the work that others do, but really wonder if you can pull off a true DIY project. Thank goodness for blogs! I purchased a desk off Craigslist for $5, but it was missing a handle (and the other handles were NOT great), and had a bunch of waterstains on the finish. I needed a plan for painting and finishing the piece.

First: Figure out HOW to paint furnature

Centsational Girl has a great post entitled Spray Paint FAQ. Definitely check it out before starting any project - she even includes a video!
For basic ideas, MadeMen has a few pointers.
I also found the "how-to" spray paint tips from eHow home to be really helpful - especially since I didn't even know what type of sandpaper to use!

Second: Purchase the supplies

Lowe's was a great source for the dropcloth, primer, sandpaper, mineral spirits, masks and tack paper. However, I found the color selection limited (I wanted a reddish/orange), so they referred me to University Art.
University Art had some great colors, but still not the orange I wanted, so I went with red (MTN94 Rojo Clandestino).
Though I love the handles at Anthropologie, I found the prices for knobs/handles at Cost Plus World Market fit my budget.
OSH was a quick stop for the Varathane Premium Polyurethene (Satin) that only takes 2 hours per coat to dry, a brush for application & gloves to protect my hands. Fun bonus? The polyurethene bottles has a reference to http://www.woodanswers.com/, which is an online resource for all things (and projects) wood - how fun is that!?!
I had a screwdriver (remove the handles) and drill (drill new holes for the new handles) on hand.

Third: Find a friend to help carry the desk to the garage (thanks NL!)

Fourth: Ensure adequate time exists for the sanding, priming, painting (2 coats) and sealing. I am sure I was slower than normal on my first attempt, but I ended up needing 3 project days to finish everything...though some of that was my limited lighting (natural only) in our apartment garage.

Here are a few images of my work in progress:

Drawers have been primed...