Five pieces of furniture for less then $80

So we've started to frequent antique and thrift stores more and more. Some are really hit and miss. Some are decent. A few weeks ago we found one new place we'll certainly return to. We ended up walking out with 2 end tables, 1 hutch, 1 desk and 1 chair. Total cost was about $80.00. So here are some before and after shots of a few of the pieces.

Desk and Hutch
Jessica has been wanting a desk for her bedroom. We came across this hutch and desk for a grand total of $28.00. There was no real damage, it just needed a good sanding and coat of paint.

Here is the hutch part, we're getting ready to start sanding it. 

 Jessica working on her own piece - - getting all the rough spots off before painting.

 Close up. 

The finished project in Jessica's room.

Click on the pictures for a better look. We actually replaced the light under the shelf just to be safe. Total cost for paint was only a few bucks. The new light was the most expensive thing and that was about $12.00.

Next Two Items - Two End Tables
Megan has been wanting some new night stands for her room. We picked up these for $15.00 each. So $30.00 for the two of them. These are solid wood with a veneer top. These were made by the American Drew Furniture Company. We weren't familiar with this company yet their prices seem rather steep. Similar new pieces are selling for over $300 each. So $15 each was a pretty good deal.

We decided to redo this with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. If you aren't familiar with this paint it's a flat paint that can be applied to just about anything without having to strip it first. Texture is actually given by using a brush, a bit of sanding to antique a piece or finishing wax to change the colors of the paint. We actually sanded and refinished the top as bare wood stained dark. 

 Megan decided duck egg blue for the drawer and old white for the rest. Now keep in mind the two pints of chalk paint cost more then the furniture, yet we have lots left over for other projects now. Megan also added some antique glaze to the legs and probably eventually the drawers to age it a bit more. It's not done yet, but almost.

And the final Piece - - for $20.00 - This chair
Okay, we haven't done anything to this chair yet, but Cheri plans on recovering it. The springs are good, it's comfortable and sturdy. It was made by the Kroehler Furniture Company.

Printers Chest Refinished

Drew's company normally takes the week off between Christmas and New Years. He needed to burn a few extra hours and ended up taking a few extra days prior to Christmas.

One of his projects was to refinish and old printers chest that his parents owned. He stripped it all down. Sanded out the rough spots then stained and finished it again. In the process he found a few odd things. First, while most of it appears to be made out of oak the bottom piece in the front appears to be poplar. Drew was tempted to remove it and replace it with a piece of Oak but decided against it. The back of this never looked very nice. Yet a coat of stain and lacquer did wonders and made it look really nice.

Sanding almost done and ready to be stained again. You can seethe bottom piece and how the grain doesn't come close to matching. Yet to preserve it the way he had it, Drew left this as is.

Only the top drawer has the separate spots for type. The remainder are simply big empty drawers.

Finished project. With dog posing in picture. We might just add a few legs to this. Nothing permanent mind you. What we are thinking is making a small tray with feet and simply rest the chest on top. Just to give it a bit more height.

This is a Hamilton Printer's Chest. Original hardware on the handles.