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Thursday, January 6, 2011

The Battleship

A couple of weeks ago, Maya and I were driving by our Salvation Army thrift shop.  I had every intention of  shooting right past, I REALLY did.  Then I saw the sign ~ 50% all furniture!  Seriously, how could I not?  Am I ever glad I did, because this beauty was hiding in the middle of the other pieces~
We had to drive home with the back hatch of the Blazer flipping up and down because we couldn't close it all the way, due to our latest find.  It was just a tad bit breezy!

                                    The top of the dresser had two chunks missing from the top~

                                 I used my Kwik Wood epoxy putty.  This stuff is pretty amazing!

                                 When it dried, I sanded it down until it was even with the surface. 
After a few coats of primer, the damaged places are completely undetectable!  Yea!

All five of the drawers were missing the drawer slides, so my husband spent three hours on Monday fixing them for me.  Here are the fancy new tracks~

 He had to add a strip of wood to the bottom of the drawer before screwing in the top slide because the drawer was just too thin. 

                                              Most of the drawer stoppers were missing, too. 

                                 Easy fix~ he just placed screws in the same spot and it worked great!

The dresser was solid wood, but it had a thin layer of fake looking wood over the top.  Since it was a bit slick, even after I sanded, I thought I'd better pull out my heavy duty primer~
Psst... do you see the Blazer in the background?  I actually get to park IN the garage this week!  Just in time for the snowstorm.  It's short-lived, though, because my husband ~ and his truck ~ will be home from his trip tomorrow.  :)  Gotta store that furniture somewhere, right?

A while back I found a quart of dark gray oops paint at Lowe's called "Winter Flannel."  I wanted the gray to be a bit lighter, so I added in a white sampler from Lowe's. 
How do you like my professional mixing station?  :)

After giving the dresser two coats of gray it looked a little boring.
My husband came home from work and said, "I'm interested to see how the battleship turns out."  That's code for, "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"  :)

After some distressing, I grabbed my #0000 steel wool and ran it over the whole dresser along the grain of the wood. 

It leaves a gorgeous faint gray glazed look and adds another layer of dimension~

I used RL glaze in black, to add a little more to the steel wool effect.

The inside of the drawers got a couple coats of the gray, and then were lined with this fabric from Hobby Lobby~

To adhere the fabric to the drawer I used this spray adhesive~
Details of how to in this post here.

I didn't have enough spray adhesive to finish the last two drawers, so I used my fabric Mod Podge on them.
Fabric Mod Podge "how to" found in this post.

The hardware was primed and sprayed black~
I mixed a tiny bit of clear glaze with the gray paint and lightly glazed the hardware so they didn't look quite so fresh and new.


I love these little knobs from Lowe's.

For the finish, I just wiped on two coats of this~

So here we have the before~

and the after~


















I think the "Battleship" turned out pretty well!  :)

73 comments:

  1. I am in love with this piece! The details are perfect...you did such a beautiful job...I absolutely LOVE the color...great!!!

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  2. This piece of furniture is absolutely awesome! You put a lot of work into it. I love the color, the detailing, everything about it. One of the best jobs I have ever seen someone do.

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  3. OH MY GOSH - beautiful, simply beautiful. Love the color and the glazing - beautiful...Great work!

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  4. that is just beautiful!!! love the color and shape- amazing!
    hope you come link it to my party!

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  5. Wow, that was a lot of work! But it pays off, it's gorgeous! I love the paint with the glaze, great job!

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  6. So pretty! You did a great job on the ol' battleship!

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  7. what a wonderful job you did...completely beautiful

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  8. What an incredible fix! I can't wait to try the wood epoxy and steel wool on my own 'battleship!' Very beautiful!!

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  9. I think this is my favorite of any redone pieces of furniture I've seen so far. Great job!

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  10. That looks amazing! I love that you stayed with the grey. I probably would have chickened out at the halfway point. Really great transformation,I love it!

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  11. What a beauty! That was a lot of work involved keeping that baby out of the landfill, but you really made it all sparkly again :)

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  12. WOW, I didn't think I would like the grey but I love it. It looks so soft. Great job.
    Traci

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  13. Absoltely gorgeous! Love all the little details on the piece and all the work you put into it. And it was a thrifty find too. What could be better? And a nicely detailed post too! Kim, you really deserve a pat on the back for this one or better yet, a great big hug - well done!!! And yes, I did notice the car in the garage!

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  14. Make that - absolutely - spelled correctly! The letter "u" on my keyboard sticks and it's driving me crazy!

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  15. Okay, you are making the rest of us look bad...lol! This is absolutely gorgeous! One of my favorites thus far. Go Kim, GO Kim! Nice work! xo

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  16. Great job!!! I too would have stopped for 50% off. The dresser is a great color!!!

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  17. What a great find! Beautiful color, perfect hardware and so on and so on. I don't think it could have turned out better. I bet you are very pleased!

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  18. I'm with Michelle...you're making us all look bad ;) It's wonderful and I love the tutorial of lining the fabric!!

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  19. This is so pretty! I'm in love with gray lately

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  20. Kim, it is just beautiful! I love everything about it, the color is perfect and I love the glazing. I am going to try that with the steel wool. And you know that I love the drawers. You are such an inspiration!

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  21. Lovely job! I have never seen the wood putty stuff...now, I'll have to find an excuse to us it!

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  22. That's beautiful. I am working on a dresser now. You have inspired me.

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  23. Ooooooo...I'll bet you're proud of yourself! Great piece, great work! I would not have passed that up myself had I seen it in a thrift store.

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  24. This is absolutely gorgeous! Thanks for stopping by trendy pockets! We have a new linky party, wonderful weekend, make sure to check it out! trendypockets.blogspot.com/

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  25. Once again...Fantastic! Inside and out, you always do such a great job!

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  26. This is such a gorgeous piece now! Well worth the drafty drive! I never knew you could fill in a huge missing chunk like that. Such a great tip!

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  27. What an awesome job! You did good girl!
    Kim:)

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  28. Simply beautiful. Great tip on the epoxy putty...I've never heard of it. It's on my list to buy now though!

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  29. Looks Fabulous! Thanks for stopping by The Rented Cottage Life! I'll visit again.
    Hugs,
    Jess@The Rented Cottage Life

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  30. That's the prettiest battleship I have ever seen! Absolutely love it.

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  31. ummm...AMAZING!!! What a gorgeous set of colors you chose to compliment each other! Would be a focal point in any room - great job!

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  32. Wow, that was a lot of work but well worth it! It turned out so beautifully.

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  33. I love this chest of drawers! Your post was loaded with great tips!
    thanks for linking up and linking back,
    gail

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  34. This is beyond gorgeous Kim...It is so "vintage glam"...You are so good at giving such detailed tutorials....

    Have a great weekend...

    Lisa

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  35. This is really beautiful. I would say the battleship turned into a beautiful 'princess' cruiseliner!

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  36. I want that !!!!!!!I just love the piece!!!!!!!!!Wish I could happen upon a piece like that and I bet I do this year.

    However I don't have room for any more furniture, I will just have a yard sale

    Janice

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  37. it looks beautiful. Simply gorgeous! I love it. Great job, I love all your steps. Gives me a hint of how to do it myself! Thanks for the tips!


    Hope you can join my "our nest" sign giveaway! Ends tonight. http://alittleknickknack.blogspot.com/2011/01/giveaway-with-shinar-mountain-designs.html

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  38. Wow! I think it looks better than any battleship I have ever seen! love the fabric in the drawers, and love the glaze on top of the gray!

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  39. Hi,
    I just popped over from Metamorphis Monday what a beautiful peace of furniture you have created.Looking forward to seeing more.
    ~Sharon~

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  40. turned out beautiful... how could you not love it..

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  41. Your dresser turned out just beautiful!

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  42. Fabulous!!!! The "battleship" comment cracks me up. Sound just like something my hubs would say ;)

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  43. Looks great! I love the color and the finish!

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  44. That looks great. I especially love how you lined the drawers.

    Miranda
    www.justdrinkacoke.blogspot.com

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  45. Beautiful, that's all I can say! Your trip to Salvation Army paid off very well. Thanks for stopping by :)

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  46. Hi! Just found your blog! I redo furniture too and its always fun finding peopl who share the same addiction, um I mean passion, as I do! Great piece, I look forward to seeing more!
    Mary @ http://thedecorativepaintbrush.blogspot.com

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  47. Love the way your "battleship" turned out. I would say in the battle of this chest you won the war. It really turned out beautifully. Love the unique lines, very pretty. Hugs, Ginger

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  48. Kim, I want every stinkin thing you redo, I want it all. :)You do amazing work!! I am in love with the grey!

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  49. That is gorgeous! I love the gray.

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  50. That dresser is beautiful! And it matches our new nightstands, perfectly! It's the exact same style. Oh how I wish I could find matching dressers to complete our room!

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  51. This style of furniture is my favorite! I love the color!

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  52. Hi Kim, don't know how I missed this beauty! This one came out fabulous! I love that quik wood stuff too and of course your adhesive idea is my new favorite. Great choice in fabric too!

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  53. Beyond beyond did I mention beyond beautiful!!!!

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  54. Love it! You've got to link up at my party tomorrow! www.thrifty101.blogspot.com
    That is amazing. I like the term "battleship" HA HA! Makes me want to go to the DI and search for some old furniture! (I don't need any but hey, it's a project!) :)

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  55. I founf your blog through Fresh Look Furniture! I love what you've done and I'm your follower now! Beautiful dresser, I love it in gray!!

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  56. it's beautiful. i love the color....and you did a great job on the glazing....

    but i want to know what your husband thought when it was done!~!!

    hugs, cindy

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  57. I love the way that turned out and I like the way you changed the knobs on the top two drawers. Thanks for linking up this week!

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  58. Gorgeous! Best looking Battleship I've seen =)

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  59. Amazing! I really appreciate your step-by-step complete with the products used. You turned that battleship around!

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  60. Love the transformation the color you choose is perfect and the fabric made it just shabby Love It!

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  61. Love how it turned out and it is such a great color! Love the black glazing. I am going to try the black this spring on a few pieces.

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  62. Kim, your dresser turned out gorgeous! I am so impressed. I love the color you chose. So glad I came across your blog. I'm a new follower.

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  63. great job on the dresser,, love the color and distressing.

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  64. So beautiful! I've never heard of using the steel wool to wipe... cool. I'm putting your dresser in the PoPP Spotlight tomorrow.

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  65. What an absouluely fabulous redo--the color is divine! Thanks for sharing at Beyond the Picket Fence.

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  66. Oooooooh, I LOVE this! I love the colour, the style....I love it all!!

    Sarahx

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  67. Oh my GOSH i want a garage. Then I could REALLY do some furniture damage!

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