the tale of the new armoire

I'm sure you are probably familiar with the latest craze called "Pinning" on Pinterest.
If you aren't, beware.  It can be a time sucker.  Also, it can falsely make you feel like you've been productive and crafty, when, in fact, you've been sitting on your rear doing nothing of real value.

If you DO want to see what I've pinned around the internet, here's my page.  I was REALLY into it when we were building our house.  It was super helpful as I was figuring out the tile/color scheme in our new kitchen....  gulp...   sad pause..   ....    crickets chirping.   ...   this is me, blowing my nose and taking deep breath.

Annnnnyway, let's stop mourning, because I have some new projects up my sleeve.  Lately, after weeks of feeling like I haven't accomplished anything tangible, I have amazed myself (and Becca, for that matter) with all of the feats I have accomplished.  Because it's my blog, and I like to talk to record the heroic things I've done (so when I look back I see that I wasn't SO lazy), let's take a look at what I just did.

Wow, great intro.
not.

So, we moved here to Dallas.  We soon realized that our entertainment center would not fit in the new family room.  Bummer.  So, we moved it to the front office instead, and actually, I quite like it there.
But, we needed to figure out a solution for toys/tv in the family room.  So, after doing some research, we decided to go to Ikea and pick out this little shelving situation with doors.  I was a fan, the price was right, and Aaron was on board.  Great.

Here she blows:

Great solution for the problem.  I had a ton of storage for toys/dvd/etc. and we could see the tv from the couch.  Good.  But, day after day, I kept finding myself so irritated about that antennae cord on the mantle.   You see, we have never paid for cable in our 7 years of marriage... we're antennae people.  If the weather is right and the antennae is in the exact right spot, you MIGHT be able to watch a show on one of the big networks (abc, nbc, fox, etc.).  Well, it just so happened that the SWEET SPOT, if you will, is located on the mantle.

Anyway, the cord thing + having the big black box of the tv sitting out---I know, it's lame, but the cord especially kept grinding on my nerves.  AND, I thought that the new cupboard would work GREAT for all my craft supplies in the spare bedroom...  see what I'm getting at?

So, after much deliberation, we decided to look for a big armoire that we could fit the whole tv in.  I scoured Craigslist for a few weeks and came upon this delightfully inexpensive beaut. 

Here she is on her backside in our garage.  One thing to note, it's really heavy.  Oh, and Aaron HATES (like with a passion) moving furniture up and down the stairs.  Guess where the homeowner had it?  You guessed it.  Upstairs.  And, they weren't normal stairs, they were the curving wrap-around kind.  It was a trick getting it down, out, and into our van.  But, we made it.  Rather, Aaron and the previous armoire-owner made it.  :)

Since we picked it up first thing in the morning and Aaron had his day off, I opted to get started on it right away.  I know, I know.  The cherry finish is LOVELY and I really thought I'd leave it alone... but my heart gravitates to white.  Clean.  Fresh.  If I could, I'd repaint all the walls in this house white.  But alas...

Aaron thought I was crazy, but I told him if he'd be in charge of the kids, I'd just go for it.  And, that I did.  Aaron took Tillie to and from dance class (did I mention she just started and LOVES it?---blast!  those pictures are missing too! I'll have to retake some!), grabbed us tacos, and put them down for naps.  In the end, he decided to help me finish up---my sore back and gnarled fist thanked him for that decision.

Here I am all hunched over... painting for 5 straight hours will do that to you.  I told Aaron to take a picture so I could remember how motivated I was.  :)  I used a KILZ primer so I didn't have to sand off the smooth finish, and I'm so glad I did!  Sanding bites.  I did 2.5 coats of the primer and 2 coats with the white paint.  In hindsight, I wish I would have done 3 coats of paint, b/c its thin in some of the spots.  Luckily, there aren't too many, and I'll go back in with a small loaded paintbrush and fix it up.

So, here she is in all her white glory!!

I moved the globes at the top of the kitchen here onto the armoire.  I know, the mantle is a little busy, but lately, I've just been throwing things up there.  Maybe one day it will look more "polished" but for now, it is what it is.

Never did I imagine that I'd pick up and armoire and refinish it all in one day.  Amazing what you can accomplish if you have some gumption.  Let's see... what have I accomplished today??  hmmm...  let's see.... my kids have been fed....  I did a blog post....  yeah, I won't give you a play by play for today.

Just call me Make-Over-Melissa.