Re-purposing a changing table

     When my husband and I were expecting our son, Marshall, we did what every soon-to-be new parents do. We bought things! We bought everything that you will think you need once the baby arrives. Now that we have lived through the first year, we realize that we didn't necessarily need everything that we purchased. 

One of those things was our changing table. 

     If i had to guess how many times I used our changing table, I would have to say we used it about 10 times. Now that Marshall is older we definitely do not use the table, and the thought of putting it in storage just waiting for whenever we decide to have another kid makes me feel so bad. We spent good money on this table for it to never be used! 

     So I am putting it to work as a display table in my living room! 

We plan on using the bottom two shelves for storage. I want to find some cool baskets to put in there where we can store some of Marshall's stuff, and maybe even some pillows and blankets.

The first thing that I knew I wanted to display on my new table is the cool shutters that I picked up at a local recycling warehouse. At first glance, I thought they were antique. So i made the $5.80 purchase, got them home, and then realized that they were not antique, they were just really dirty. So i cleaned them up, and antiqued them myself. I used a dry paint brush, dipped the tips in some brown paint,  wiped the paint off on a paper towel so that the brush was pretty much just tinted with the color, and then began making streaks and strokes, focusing mostly on edges. 

This was the result!

The next item that I wanted to add to the table was this cool, decorative, antiqued bird cage that I picked up at a local store called Ross. If you live on the mainland, specifically in the Midwest, Ross is comparable to Marshall's or TJ Maxx. 

     My living room is French themed (getting there, this is a recent re-decorating decision) 

so I included a picture that I also bought at Ross. I picked up this gem for $12!

     I also included an antique wine bottle that I found at the recycling warehouse for only $5.00! 

The last thing that i put on the table was a trunk that I found at, you guessed it, ROSS! 

     We also use this trunk to hide our unsightly items (diapers and wipes!) this also keeps them out of reach from our little trouble maker ;-)

I am SO EXCITED that we are getting some use out of this table, 

and I LOVE the results!

So many choices!

 I have organized my thoughts and ideas and put them together in collections that match. There are 7 possible designs for refurnishing my old vanity into Marshall's new toy chest

                                                                     

Design Collection #1

                             

 

I haven't decided on a fabric or drawer liner for these yet, but I love the knob. It is woven Bronze.

Design Collection #2

                      
      

                                                

                                                             fabric and drawer liner

Design Collection #3

                                                    

         

                                       

fabric                                            

                                                             drawer liner 

Design Collection #4

                                  

  

                     

    
  fabric (robins egg blue instead of pink)

                       drawer liner

Design Collection #5

                                            

    
     drawer liner

                      

    
                                                                                                   fabric

Design Collection #6

                                   

   

                           

    

                                  fabric

                                      drawer liner

Design Collection #7

                                      

           

                                              

                                                          Drawer liner                                                         fabric

One man's trash is another man's treasure

It started as a vanity. A beautiful piece of furniture in which i imagine belonging to a little girl sometime in the late 1950's. She would sit in front of the mirror staring at her image and imagining herself being as beautiful as her mother in a few short years.

This vanity was then discarded and passed around from family to family until eventually ending up in the Airman's Attic. A place on base where military members and their dependents can go to donate and receive free items that are no longer wanted or needed. Another family quickly took in the vanity and removed the mirror from the top, and returned it to the Airman's attic. Once I found this beautiful piece of history, I had to have it.  

I imagine great things for this beautiful old vanity. I plan to re-purpose it into a toy chest for my son, Marshall. I will sand it, paint it off-white, and distress the finish, all the while blogging my every step. 

I have many options and choices to make to transform this piece. 

I need to choose which type of knobs and handles I would like to use.

                       

these are two types of handles that I can picture on the toy chest

...

and these are my choices of knobs

                                  

    

                          I have found many other knobs that I like, these are just a few examples

I also plan on turning the middle section of the vanity into a seat. 

I need to add cushion and choose an upholstery.

      

       

            These are my choices of upholstery but as you can see, they do not match with my knob/ handle choices very well.  I plan on continuing my search for both items.

The final choice that I need to make is what type of drawer liner I will use. I have found that there are many more options of wall paper than there are drawer liners, so here are a few that I have found that I think are whimsical yet appropriate for the look I am going for.

                                 

                    

That is all I have for now, once I narrow down the items I would like to use, or when I find more items and am unable to decide on the look I like most, then I will make another post.