One Artsy Mama tried her hand at her very first furniture DIY! We can all remember our very first DIY, right?! The fear and excitement we felt about it. I remember my first DIY was my reupholstering chair and since I finished it I have not stopped. Let see the wonderful inspiration Amy has for us with a vanity painting and stencil design.
Guys, I am SO excited today!!!
I mean SERIOUSLY excited!
I’m about to share with you an extra super-special first ever in the history of One Artsy Mama kind of project!
Presenting…my first furniture redo!
I have to admit, I was really intimidated when I first started blogging and seeing all the amazing furniture projects out there. My comfort zone is more along the lines of sewing machines, beads, and pom-poms, know what I mean? But this ugly old vanity in our master bathroom has bugged me for TEN YEARS now! Meet “Mr. Ugly.”
Really. 10 years. Every time I look at it I think “ew.” The ugly gold trim, the places where the paint is coming off {I know distressed-looking stuff can be shabby chic, but only when you do it on purpose!} Ugh. Mr. Ugly, you’re just an eyesore.
I hated it but I just didn’t know what to do about it, and on the list of priorities for home purchases, a new vanity {for the bathroom nobody uses but the three of us} just wasn’t near the top. Then, oh blessed then, Cutting Edge Stencils came into my life. They offered to send me my choice of stencil to review {after I begged them} and I picked the Cassablanca Craft Stencil, size small. I used it for three projects already, all canvases, and I finally decided to take the plunge and try it on Mr. Ugly. Here’s what I used:
- my trusty Cutting Edge Stencil
- stencil brush and assorted paintbrushes
- gray and black acrylic paint {one bottle of gray, two black}
- Miniwax Polycrylic semi-gloss sealer
Let me preface by saying this is a “do as I say, not as I do” kind of project. See, I’m pretty sure I’m one of the world’s most impatient crafters. When I get me an idea, I can’t rest until it’s done, or at least started. Sooo, I tend to not always take my time and preplan and all that good stuff. In all honesty, as I worked on this, I did a little of this, then a little of that, then back to this…but I don’t recommend working that way. I also recommend taking the doors off before you start. Just sayin’.
STEP 1: Paint entire vanity with two coats of your base color. Again, a patient person would take the doors off, which would be much simpler.
STEP 2: Stencil doors and side of cabinet with black. Paint front of cabinet with two coats of black as well.
I also painted the knobs and hinges black. I may get some new knobs…jury’s still out on that one. Thoughts?
Again, this would have been MUCH easier if the doors were off, but, eh…
I have to confess at this point that stenciling the side of the cabinet was just plain hard. Why? Well, since I couldn’t move the vanity at all, I just had to work in the space the best I could. You should have seen me squeezed all in and around the toilet trying to get these perfect little stencil images. Oy. The ones at the very bottom, top, and back edge are a little um, shall we say “less than perfect”, but shhhhh! You can’t tell from a distance, right? Next time, I’m definitely stenciling something I can move! And I’m deep cleaning the toilet too. Pee-yuuu!
So far so good, right?
STEP 3: Apply sealant.
The last step was to seal my paint. Naturally, being in the bathroom, I know the vanity is going to get wet, whether it’s a splash from LC’s bubble bath, a drip from the faucet, or a little ‘aim accident’ when LC goes potty. So, I knew I needed a good way to make sure my paint job would stay in tact.
I was tempted to just Mod Podge it {that stuff can do just about anything!} and it probably would have worked, but I’m running low. So, I decided to go ahead and ask an expert. We went to Lowe’s, my favorite part of which was LC walking through the store yelling, “Ar, Ar, Ar, I’m in the man store!” They recommended exactly what I needed, Polycrylic semi-gloss, and after two coats, my vanity was pretty AND shiny.
I did finally get hubby to take the doors off at this point. Mainly because it was literally impossible to paint the very left side of the cabinet front otherwise.
The final step was reassembly. Ahhh. I love a completed project, don’t you? Mr. Ugly no more! Needs a new name, don’t you think?
LC’s reaction was, “That looks neat, Mommy. You did a good job.” Which is important since previously he was the only artist with work on display in that bathroom.
Yes indeed, friends, we’re LC tested and approved!
Well, what do you think of my first furniture project?
I’d love to hear your thoughts {unless you hate it, in which case, nevermind}! I’m super excited about it…and now I’m just walking around the house with my stencil wondering what to attack decorate next!
Happy Stenciling!
So tell me how did she do? I think she did a awesome job for being the first time stenciling her bathroom cabinet.
