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Amy’s Sweet Story – Tuesday’s Treasures

Hi Friends!

How was your weekend? I hope it was restful and fun! I can’t wait to share today’s story with you because stories like this don’t happen every day in my profession.

Michael emailed me asking to set up a time to go over some furniture he’d like to order. We met and he explained how he would love to surprise his wife, Amy, with a bedroom set for Christmas. They had miss matched furniture and he wanted something really special – picked by him and designed by me. Amy has ordered furniture from us in the past so I knew her and what she might like. He told me about items he had noticed her liking in the past and asked if I could make a set which would reflect the style she likes and make it all blend while not all exactly matching.

We picked out a dresser I had in stock. This one in fact.
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They owned another dresser he said that he’d love to have repurposed:
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He also needed end stands and we thought these could work with the design.
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They have a king sized bed with no headboard so he asked if we could build one. We went back and forth on ideas, he wanted the texture of raw wood but a light color because the headboard wall is a dark brown.

So we started with the tall oak dresser and added an ombre distressed finish. Look closely, we start with white and go down do a chalky black on the drawers, then heavily distressed everything. The outside of the dresser is painted with Benjamin Moore’s color Simply White. If you want to see how we paint furniture, check out our How to Paint Furniture post. Ready for the after?
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He also wanted a place to store electronics so we made the top drawer hinge down in order to use the cable box or DVD player.
102816-210We then took the dresser that they already  owned and removed the trim on the fronts so we could add barn board to the drawer fronts.
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Then we kept the end stands simple with painting them Simply White as well and heavily distressing them.
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Last but definitely not least, we custom built a king sized headboard and installed lights as well!
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One of my favorite parts of this story is that Michael asked me if he should completely surprise Amy or ask her if she’d like to provide input. I thought allowing her to offer input might be nice so he told Amy. Her reply was the best… I trust you, surprise me. This level of love and trust is a rare treat in my line of work and everything about it made my heart happy.

So let me end by saying – thank you Michael for being so in love with your wife, for working hard to think of something special to give her, for trying to surprise her, and for giving me complete creative freedom. Amy, thank you for being the kind of wife that is trusting and kind. You did what most wouldn’t by trusting and I hope it paid off!!

If you’d like to order a custom headboard or furniture, please use our Contact Us form or stop by our store at 272 River Street, Troy, NY. I also added quite a few other new pieces to the store!

There is a box at the top right of this page to enter your email address to receive notifications by email when I post something new on this blog. Please sign up today!

Happy FunCycling Friends,
Sarah ;)

If you like what you see, please like FunCycled’s Facebook page to keep up to date on the newest finds, vote on colors and give your input on our creativity. Last but not least, let us customize a furniture piece for you. We create custom furniture and will deliver for customers in upstate NY and also ship throughout the US. Send us a note with what you would like using our contact page. Or buy something that we’ve already designed from our furniture for sale page.

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Farmhouse Table Giveaway

Here at FunCycled, we’d like to start the holiday giving early, but we NEED YOUR HELP! If this picture of our custom-made table gets 1,000 LIKES on our Facebook page, we’ll GIVE AWAY THE TABLE to one lucky commenter! 110216-15 110216-18 110216-23 110216-112

Yes, that’s right! If this picture gets 1,000 LIKES, we’ll give away this table just in time to be used for Thanksgiving dinner!

WHAT: This custom-made table with a BARN BOARD TOP and table legs made of PILLARS from an old home in the Capital District. Size: 6 feet long by 31 ½ inches wide by 30 inches tall.

HOW: SHARE, SHARE, SHARE this post on your own timeline and with friends to help it get to 1,000 LIKES.

To be ENTERED TO WIN: Like & comment on this post. Winner will be drawn from those who like & comment on this specific post—not general comments on our page. (***Winner is responsible for shipping costs or pick up. Chairs not included.)

WHEN: Enter to win by 11:59pm on Sunday, November 20th.

WINNER announced on Monday, November 21st.

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Empire Desk Makeover – Tuesday’s Treasures

Hi Friends!

How was your week and weekend? We had an epic week, redoing about 20 furniture pieces. Man oh man was that a good thing, but by Friday night we were definitely ready to collapse! Thankfully we were able to enjoy some awesome family fun this weekend, from Harvest Parties to dinner with friends. It was reinvigorating and we are ready to jump head first into another hard work week which features some unique designs!

Before we get to furniture, I want to share a couple of pictures from a family photo shoot we just had done.
View More: http://nancynoblephotography.pass.us/trop-family View More: http://nancynoblephotography.pass.us/trop-family View More: http://nancynoblephotography.pass.us/trop-family

This week’s makeover is so pretty! We started with this antique drop front desk (circa 1930’s) that had beautiful wood grain but needed to be brought up to date style wise. Here’s the desk before:
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We painted it with Benjamin Moore’s color Simply White, medium distressed it, and sealed it with a protective clear coat. We also darkened the drawer fronts so they didn’t have as much of an orange hue. If you want to see how we paint furniture, check out our How to Paint Furniture post. Ready for the after?
102816-34 102816-31 102816-43 102816-42 102816-41 So beautiful, right?? This desk is available to purchase and you can check out other new furniture for sale on our website here! If you’d like to purchase it, please use our Contact Us form or stop by our store at 272 River Street, Troy, NY. I also added quite a few other new pieces to the store!

There is a box at the top right of this page to enter your email address to receive notifications by email when I post something new on this blog. Please sign up today!

Happy FunCycling Friends,
Sarah ;)

If you like what you see, please like FunCycled’s Facebook page to keep up to date on the newest finds, vote on colors and give your input on our creativity. Last but not least, let us customize a furniture piece for you. We create custom furniture and will deliver for customers in upstate NY and also ship throughout the US. Send us a note with what you would like using our contact page. Or buy something that we’ve already designed from our furniture for sale page.

 

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Black Empire Dresser Makeover – Tuesday’s Treasures

Hi Friends:

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I posted about going to help my friend Marcie who’s in Atlanta taking care of her 3 year old son Asher after his liver transplant? Well, I didn’t actually go that week! I was proud of myself for getting that post written before I left for the trip – but that plan backfired when I ran out of time to edit it after my change of plans. I ended up needing to reschedule the trip for a couple of weeks because Asher was still in the PICU and visiting during that time would have been tricky. Last week I was finally able to go and man oh man is he doing well! Thank you so much for praying for him!

Marcie doesn’t love having her pic taken but here’s a selfie I asked her to take in the drive through of Starbucks! lol!
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We took one day and went to Decatur to walk and window shop. It was fun to get out and spend the day with Marcie, Asher and Piper. Here’s a thumbs up for the healing little guy!
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For this weeks furniture makeover, I wanted to show you this beautiful empire dresser. I believe it’s from the late 1800’s. The dovetailing on the drawer sides is unique and of very high quality. It’s really a good-looking piece of furniture.

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I bought it from a barn sale in Columbia County. All the money made goes to an orphanage in Mexico. Love giving to a good cause and I hope that you do, too! Here it is before:

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We painted it with a black enamel paint, lightly distressed it, added new hardware and sealed it with a protective cleat coat. If you want to see how we paint furniture, check out our How to Paint Furniture post. Ready for the after?

Black Distressed Dresser
Black Distressed Dresser

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So beautiful, right?? This dresser is available to purchase and you can check out other new furniture for sale on our website here! If you’d like to purchase it, please use our Contact Us form or stop by our store at 272 River Street, Troy, NY. I also added quite a few other new pieces to the store!

There is a box at the top right of this page to enter your email address to receive notifications by email when I post something new on this blog. Please sign up today!

Happy FunCycling Friends,
Sarah ;)

If you like what you see, please like FunCycled’s Facebook page to keep up to date on the newest finds, vote on colors and give your input on our creativity. Last but not least, let us customize a furniture piece for you. We create custom furniture and will deliver for customers in upstate NY and also ship throughout the US. Send us a note with what you would like using our contact page. Or buy something that we’ve already designed from our furniture for sale page.

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Mid Century Teal and Ombre Dresser – Tuesday’s Treasures

Hi Friends!

How’s your week going? It’s a good week here! Keeping busy with interior design jobs and custom furniture orders – loving every minute of it!

This weeks makeover is a fun one because this dresser was SO ugly to start with. Truthfully, I almost didn’t buy it. See for yourself!
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We painted the outside with Benjamin Moore’s color Tropical Teal, glazed it with Valspar’s Antiquing Glaze, and finished it with a clear coat.  If you want to see how we paint furniture, check out our How to Paint Furniture post.

Ready for the after?
07-30-2016-3_28615213866_o 07-30-2016-4_28615209746_o 07-30-2016-5_28615207786_o 07-30-2016-6_28569016361_o 07-30-2016-9_28569012061_o 07-30-2016-7_28569014351_oThis set is available to purchase and you can check out other new furniture for sale on our website here! If you’d like to purchase it, please use our Contact Us form or stop by our store at 272 River Street, Troy, NY. I also added quite a few other new pieces to the store!

There is a box at the top right of this page to enter your email address to receive notifications by email when I post something new on this blog. Please sign up today!

Happy FunCycling Friends,
Sarah ;)

If you like what you see, please like FunCycled’s Facebook page to keep up to date on the newest finds, vote on colors and give your input on our creativity. Last but not least, let us customize a furniture piece for you. We create custom furniture and will deliver for customers in upstate NY and also ship throughout the US. Send us a note with what you would like using our contact page. Or buy something that we’ve already designed from our furniture for sale page.

 

 

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For Sale! Haywood Wakefield Long Mid Century Dresser – Tuesday’s Treasures

Hi Friends!

How’s your week going? I can’t wait to share with you this amazing find. I was out shopping for furniture and actually found a Haywood Wakefield matching dresser set!! Ahhh!! I look for makers marks which you usually find in the top left drawer or on the back. That helps me to know if it’s a quality furniture maker. Haywood Wakefield is a top mid century furniture company. All solid wood and amazing quality pieces. I’ve redone them before but only as custom orders. So to find a set that I could design and redo as I’d like was so exciting for me!

Here they are before:

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I loved the hardware, but wanted to brighten them up so I painted them all gold. Then we painted the outside of the boxes with Benjamin Moore’s color Simply White. We deepened the color of the wood fronts with a darker stain.  If you want to see how we paint furniture, check out our How to Paint Furniture post. We also replaced the hardware with traditional bale pulls.

Ready for the after?

Mid Century Tall Dresser
Mid Century Tall Dresser

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Mid Century Long Dresser
Mid Century Long Dresser

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Mid Century Dresser
Mid Century Dresser

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This set is available to purchase and you can check out other new furniture for sale on our website here! If you’d like to purchase it, please use our Contact Us form or stop by our store at 272 River Street, Troy, NY. I also added quite a few other new pieces to the store!

There is a box at the top right of this page to enter your email address to receive notifications by email when I post something new on this blog. Please sign up today!

Happy FunCycling Friends,
Sarah ;)

If you like what you see, please like FunCycled’s Facebook page to keep up to date on the newest finds, vote on colors and give your input on our creativity. Last but not least, let us customize a furniture piece for you. We create custom furniture and will deliver for customers in upstate NY and also ship throughout the US. Send us a note with what you would like using our contact page. Or buy something that we’ve already designed from our furniture for sale page.

 

 

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For Sale! Antique Organ Turned Into a Desk – Tuesday’s Treasures

Hi Friends!

How are you? I’m out of town spending some time with my friend Marcie. Her son Asher has liver cancer and is in a transplant center getting his new liver so I flew into Atlanta to see if I could be a help to her or at least help pass time in the hospital together.

Here’s a picture of Asher and my kiddos a few months:img_3375

Please be in prayer for Asher as the healing process is taking longer than anticipated. Also, pray for his mom, dad, two brothers and sister. It’s a hard few months for the family with his mom being away at a hospital.

This week’s furniture makeover has a special place in my heart because I’m a pianist. I went to a barn sale that I go to every year. All the money that they raise, they give to an orphanage in Mexico so I’m also happy to shop and support that!

This is an antique organ which I believe is from the late 1800’s based on other’s I’ve seen online. When we saw it at the sale, someone else had already moved the keys up. We just had to do some finishing touches, paint it and glaze it. Here it is before:
29075858110_af8d28f624_zWe painted it with Sherman Williams color Rainwashed, glazed it with Valspar’s Antiquing Glaze, and finished it with a satin clear coat.  If you want to see how we paint furniture, check out our How to Paint Furniture post.
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Organ Desk
Organ Desk

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So beautiful, right?? This desk is available to purchase and you can check out other new furniture for sale on our website here! If you’d like to purchase it, please use our Contact Us form or stop by our store at 272 River Street, Troy, NY. I also added quite a few other new pieces to the store!

There is a box at the top right of this page to enter your email address to receive notifications by email when I post something new on this blog. Please sign up today!

Happy FunCycling Friends,
Sarah ;)

If you like what you see, please like FunCycled’s Facebook page to keep up to date on the newest finds, vote on colors and give your input on our creativity. Last but not least, let us customize a furniture piece for you. We create custom furniture and will deliver for customers in upstate NY and also ship throughout the US. Send us a note with what you would like using our contact page. Or buy something that we’ve already designed from our furniture for sale page.

 

 

 

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Mid Century Modern Living Room Design – FunCycled

Hi Friends!

Thank you to everyone who’s been keeping me so busy with interior design work!! We started to officially offer interior design in May and have been busy with it ever since. Getting the right design is the result of asking questions, listening, understanding what you want, planning, experience and your budget. How I structure the design and cost is by scaling it to the your needs and resources. I charge per hour while I’m at a client’s house and a reduced per hour rate when I’m at home doing research and making a design plan. Typically the initial consult takes about 1 1/2 hours for a couple of rooms.

I’ve gotten many questions about how the process works so I thought I’d step you through a recent design for a client in Saratoga. Kirsten emailed me to ask about booking a design consult with us. She and her husband had recently bought a home and wanted help with each room in the house. It doesn’t have to be the whole house – I’ve done everything from a gallery wall layout, to redecorating one bedroom, to starting from scratch on an entire home.

Before I go to your home for the consult, I will ask for pictures of the house, find out who lives there and the purpose of the room(s) I will be designing. This give me time to plan some ideas before getting there – saving you time.

In this case, after I reviewed the initial information, I scheduled a visit (the initial consult).  I asked Kirsten for her vision of the rooms/her home, identified the furniture or decor pieces available (as is, or to be re-purposed) and what was on the wish list to be purchased.  Typically, and as was the case during this consult, my head was already over flowing with ideas so I started to make preliminary suggestions on the layout, possible furniture and decor items, choice of colors, etc.  And we had to talk budget and timeline, based on the scope of the project, what could reasonably be accomplished and how best to utilize the money to obtain the desired results.  Letting me know how much your budget is one of the first questions I ask!

So I went home and worked room by room on designs, starting with the first room that she needed to have done. Usually a room takes 2-3 hours for me to complete the preliminary design  – with wall color, rug, lighting and furniture choices. As I create the space I like to make a Mood Board to show how everything is going to look together. Here’s an example of the mood board that I made for the mid century modern sitting room.
Mid Century Modern Living Room Mood Board

This allowed Kirsten to “picture” the room before final design decisions are made. There are always follow up discussions, questions and texts about the plan, and while I’m looking for furniture/decor ideas. Along with the mood board, I create a resource list for the client to order whatever they would like.  I also can order it and bill you. For this mid century room the resource list consisted of:
Rug – Joss and Main
Brekan Tribeca Pewter Sofa
Finley Accent Chairs – Joss and Main
Mid Century Credenza – FunCycled
Cotton Canvas Diamond Stripe Curtains – West Elm
Heavenly Round Cocktail Table – Overstock
Gold Floor Lamp – Target 

After review of the mood board, and the back and forth discussions with the client, I may also need to go back one more time to measure out each piece and make sure it feels right in the space before hitting the order now button. Also, sometimes clients need to make changes to the designs because the rug doesn’t come in the size they wanted, etc.

At the end we hope our customers have rooms that reflect their style, make them feel relaxed and will be welcoming for family and friends for years to come! If you would like help with your next room or even the whole house, please use our Contact Us form to set up an appointment. I’m here to help come up with a plan that works in your budget, create beautiful designs, and make the process fun,  not stressful!

In addition to  beautiful rooms, remember we make beautiful furniture. Here are a few of many on our Furniture For Sale page:

There is a box at the top right of this page to enter your email address to receive notifications by email when I post something new on this blog. Please sign up today!

Happy FunCycling Friends,
Sarah ;)

If you like what you see, please like FunCycled’s Facebook page to keep up to date on the newest finds, vote on colors and give your input on our creativity. Last but not least, let us customize a furniture piece for you. We create custom furniture and will deliver for customers in upstate NY and also ship throughout the US. Send us a note with what you would like using our contact page. Or buy something that we’ve already designed from our furniture for sale page.

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Retro Farmhouse Kitchen Makeover – Tuesday’s Treasures

Hi Friends!

I’m sooooooooo excited to share our first ever kitchen makeover with you!! Do you like Fixer Upper? If so, you’ll probably enjoy this kitchen makeover. It started back in June with the Interior Design phase. Ann hired me to be the interior designer for her dining room and entry way. The week we finished the entry way, she stopped by our store and said, “what room would you like to design next?”.  I felt weird about telling her a room needed a makeover but she promised not to have hurt feelings! So I jumped at the idea of redoing her kitchen! She has a small kitchen but I knew we could breathe new life into it and make it a fun place to have friends over. Ann had other people give her quotes to redo the kitchen but they wanted to rip walls down and make it a major renovation project. Ann didn’t go for it and loved that I wanted to keep the original shape and size, but give it new life again.

To share the pictures of the kitchen after the remodel wouldn’t be the same without showing the before pictures.

Here we go!
ann-dillons_27736211720_oLet’s start with the fridge wall, shall we? I didn’t like the placement of the fridge or that the island was all wood. You’ll see in the next few pictures that there is very little kitchen cabinet space so I wanted to make the island look like the rest of the cabinets and add exposed shelving above it. I sent Ann three different design ideas for the kitchen but my favorite design was one that included all retro style appliances from Big Chill. With such a small room, a retro design could incorporate fun appliances. I was elated to find out that she wanted to go with the retro appliances plan!!!091316-31_29626835256_o We also added white shiplap to the bottom half of the wall to add even more texture to the space.
091316-224_29037685893_oI wanted to make the fridge the focal point of the room so I moved it to the middle, then put the island on the left and built exposed shelving to go above it. We also added LED lights under each shelf to brighten up that corner. 091316-22_29035983564_oLet’s move on to the wall with the stove. The stove needed to be replaced, but I felt like this space also needed more storage. Here it is before:
ann-dillons_27736212870_oStorage was tricky because behind the butcher block was a heater that couldn’t be covered. We decided to build a cabinet that looked like a counter but with metal on the bottom to let the heat out but still give her work space and built a custom cabinet to also provide more storage.
091316-214_29580946871_oScroll back up and take a look at the door to the left of the stove. The rest of Ann’s house has beautiful mahogany doors and I wanted these to match so we stripped off all the paint, sanded them down and stained them to match. I love the timeless look that gives this kitchen. Refinishing the doors was probably Johns least favorite part of this renovation. Now check out the difference!

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Let’s take a look at the ceiling now… not so pretty wood that was an orange/brown.
ann-dillons_27938496981_oWith a light that needed to go for sure!
Here it is now… sooooooo pretty, right?
091316-21_29371599710_oMoving on to the sink section. The dark color of the cabinets made this space feel small. ann-dillons_28016245125_oThe doors and drawers were really basic so John added decorative trim to make it seem more modern and high end. Here’s a close up on those:
img_1391John also build the counter top from scratch using solid maple. That was probably the hardest part of the remodel. Not the install, but the build itself. It was definitely worth it though!
We went with a GE retro dishwasher because we wanted white. The hardware is all from Restoration Hardware. What would a kitchen makeover be without a farmhouse sink anyway??
29511007270_e92da72053_o091316-216_29035868644_o 091316-217_29662439555_oThe rug added another deign element that made the kitchen fun and fresh. The tile is from Lowes and we went with a dark gray grout. Since the windows look out to her back yard, I wanted to skip on curtains and leave it open and sunshiney.
Ann already had this antique coffee grinder and I definitely wanted to incorporate it into the kitchen design. Isn’t it awesome?!?
091316-219_29626782286_oThe cabinets, trim, and ceiling are painted with Benjamin Moore’s Simply White in Semi Gloss. The walls are painted with Benjamin Moore’s Simply White in Satin. When Ann walked into the house for the first time after the remodel and sent me a text saying, “I can’t stop smiling”… and that says it all friends.

Here are some other pretty pictures that we thought you might like!

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We can help design or remodel your home! If you’d like help with either, use our Contact Us form! We would love to create one of a kind deigns for you! 

We also have lots of one of a kind furniture for sale right now if you’re in need of that. Here are a few of those pieces:

There is a box at the top right of this page to enter your email address to receive notifications by email when I post something new on this blog. Please sign up today!

Happy FunCycling Friends,
Sarah ;)

If you like what you see, please like FunCycled’s Facebook page to keep up to date on the newest finds, vote on colors and give your input on our creativity. Last but not least, let us customize a furniture piece for you. We create custom furniture and will deliver for customers in upstate NY and also ship throughout the US. Send us a note with what you would like using our contact page. Or buy something that we’ve already designed from our furniture for sale page.

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New York State of Mind Dresser Set – Tuesday’s Treasures


Hi Friends!

How was your week? Everyone start school ok? My kiddos started at a new school this year and I was a little nervous for them – hoping they would make new friends easily and like their teachers! Thankfully, they absolutely love it, and I’m thrilled at how easily they integrated into their new school. Oh, and having normal  work hours again feels so good, too  Here are a few pictures of my babies on the first day of school!

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This week’s transformation is on the simpler side, but still so classic and pretty. I bought this dresser set a while ago and have been wanting time to redo it!
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We painted it with Benjamin Moore’s color New York State of Mind, glazed it with Valspar’s Antiquing Glaze, and finished it with a satin clear coat.  If you want to see how we paint furniture, check out our How to Paint Furniture post. We also replaced the hardware with traditional bale pulls.

Ready for the after?

Blue Maple High Boy Dresser
Blue Maple High Boy Dresser

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Blue Low Boy Dresser
Blue Maple  Low Boy Dresser

09022016-8_29333219081_o 09022016-4_29333222011_o 09022016-7_29333219651_oThis set is available to purchase and you can check out other new furniture for sale on our website here! If you’d like to purchase it, please use our Contact Us form or stop by our store at 272 River Street, Troy, NY. I also added quite a few other new pieces to the store!

There is a box at the top right of this page to enter your email address to receive notifications by email when I post something new on this blog. Please sign up today!

Happy FunCycling Friends,
Sarah ;)

If you like what you see, please like FunCycled’s Facebook page to keep up to date on the newest finds, vote on colors and give your input on our creativity. Last but not least, let us customize a furniture piece for you. We create custom furniture and will deliver for customers in upstate NY and also ship throughout the US. Send us a note with what you would like using our contact page. Or buy something that we’ve already designed from our furniture for sale page.