Chalk Board Dresser

     My partner picked this simple little dresser up at an auction for cheap.

     To me, this one screamed that I should do something a bit different.  Because it was cheap and had easy lines, I felt it was worth the risk.  I've been dying to do something with license plates but that didn't seem quite right.  It had to be wooden-knob-friendly because I couldn't afford to put another 10 knobs into my collection.  I'm finding I have a secret aversion to the mushroom knobs.  I've only just found this out.  Don't ask me why, but the first thing I find myself doing is thinking how I can replace them.  I always thought they were sweet before but now I look at them like they don't have enough pizazz.  Anyway, I wasn't going to let a replacement happen this time.

     We had just bought some chalkboard paint for my 'Lunch Special' sign, so I had my sudden epiphany as I was finishing that project.  Chalkboard drawers!

     I sanded the dresser lightly and put on two coats of Rust-Oleum flat black.

     I added the chalkboard spray paint to just the drawers and the knobs.  I contemplated doing the whole thing but thought it would be too much of a 'dusty' look.  I'm glad I didn't because I really like the contrast between the clean black and the used chalkboard surface.

     The best part...   I got to keep the wooden knobs!

     Tip:  Don't forget to prime the surface before you actually write on it or the first thing you write will be permanent - always in the background.  It is simple to do.  Just take the side of your chalk and rub over the entire surface and wipe off.  That's it!  Now you are ready to write what you feel.

Double-Sided Bench

     I love, love my partner's benches!  He always manages to do something so original and unique from basically scraps of wood.  I've had some favs but this takes the cake.
     Do you see what it was originally?  Most of it is parts from and old crib I picked up at an auction four years ago.  I would like to add here that this is one of my purchases that solidifies my being a loony in his mind and, inevitably, I hear, 'What do you plan on doing with that?'  Little do men know, we do have a plan.  Anyway...
     The seats are from an old table top and the trim below that is from a house in town celebrating its one hundred year anniversary this year.
     There is a story behind this that you have to promise won't get back to him.  We have a basement under the shop that is his work space.  All the lumber and salvage is stored down there until he feels inspired (or until he realizes he is running out of room, whichever happens first.)  He started with the crib with the intention of salvaging all that he could.  He went out of his way to make it extra sturdy by using glue and a nail gun on most of it.  When it came time to move it to the sales floor, it wouldn't fit through the door.  Many explicatives and a few days later, we unhinged the door, removed the seats and only then did it go up no problem.
     I would normally never let him hear the end of it but I realize that this kind of thing happens to me all the time.  I can hardly point fingers.  Like the time I.....oh, you don't want to hear about that.
     Sidenote, it fits most doors just not our narrower basement door.   $130   SOLD