Recycling a Record Cabinet

Before

I bought this cabinet from a Goodwill -God, I love that place- and turned it into my new nightstand. It was originally used to hold classic records in the '60s but since then these mod cabinets are frequently found cheap at bargain stores. I think they are just awesome and the perfect storage unit for books!
 After taking it completely apart, I sanded it to rough up the surface and prepare for paint. I used Valspar's Thorny Brush spray paint. The brass caps on the legs were cleaned with brillow --And the matching brass flower knobs I just happened to have left over from another project. All for only around $10. Love!

The Tanker Desk

Refinishing this baby was a huge undertaking and my biggest project yet. This type of vintage steelcase desk was used in the 1950's up until the 1980's as a staple in offices and corporations around America. It's made purely of steel and takes a cue as it seems to weigh as much as an Army tank. Today these guys are no longer used widespread thus, they are being recycled as scrap or junked. But if you watch any office scene on Madmen, you will see the tanker in all it's glory.

My sister of course, had to have this desk for her office being that she is an antique lover and a journalist-- hello? Tanker just goes with the territory.

As you can see, this monstrosity is no longer green, but Rustoleum's shade of Almond. It's much softer-looking and shinier too. I began by removing all handles and sanding every green part with a coarse 150-grit sandpaper. This removed any loose rust and prepared the surface for primer. After wiping clean and spraying a sandable, metal primer into the dings and let it dry, I continued sanding with a less-coarse 400 grit sand paper. Using blue painter's tape, I protected the top from overspray and began spray painting every knook and cranny with the enamel. The top is made from a type of linoleum, which lucky for me, was not gouged. I light sanded this as well with a 400 grit paper. The metal trim around the top, handles. and legs were cleaned with brillo pad and water. And for kicks, I used polishing compound to smooth out the top layer. Bada bing, an authentic steelcase tanker desk! All it's missing now is a fabulous chair.

A Dresser in Shambles

Transforming an ordinary, mission-style dresser into a beautiful (and now functional) piece of furniture was fun! It was in pieces and littered with watermarks and uneven stain patterns throughout so I decided to paint it-- I used Valspar's shade of Hotel Vanilla. The square knobs came from Target.

Sanding, priming and painting the drawers was a process that took about two days. I used a 120 grit sand paper on all the drawers to remove the sheen, and then used a stain blocking primer to seal the grain and cover up any unevenness. I then spray painted the front while protecting from overspray using a piece of cardboard. 







A Reclaimed Retro Coffee Table

I picked up a solid black coffee table from my local goodwill; it was peeling and chipped but I could tell it had good bones. So I paid the lady $14 bucks for it and fit it into my car. After stripping all the paint from it I discovered it's teak, a common wood used to make furniture in the 60's --score! The top however, was made from a laminate/formica type of material, which needed to be fine-sanded and painted. I chose black to give it a sharp look that also ties in with the tinge of black still in the pores of the wood after stripping. It yields a vintagey look on this classic living room table from the '60s era. After doing a little research, I discovered it's a name-brand piece that sells for as much as $350 on other vintage websites.