mellow yellow

I have been wanting to put something in our entry way that we can throw our keys and mail on when we walk in. But I also wanted it to be practical and have lots of storage space. (So not just a table.) I looked on craigslist and found this old oak dresser for $50. (It does have top drawers but I didn't remember to take a 'before' photo until I already started taking the drawers out to paint.)

 The only catch was that we had to go get the heavy dresser. (And we have no car...) It was only about 15 blocks away but with no car that is still a problem. Jamie had been wanting to try out Zip Car so he checked it out and it was only $15 to rent an SUV for an hour, so he did and went and picked up the dresser for me. So nice of him!

The dresser is very sturdy and has really cool handles. Annie was a 'big help' while I was sanding the dresser....

I decided to branch out from my usual turquoise and go with a warm golden yellow color. (PS- before I left Arkansas I discovered that Sherwin Williams has these quarts of sample paint for $5! You can pick any color from the hundreds of paint chips and in just a few minutes they whip you up a tub of pretty paint. They warn you that it's not high quality paint because it's supposed to be a sample, but I've used it on a filing cabinet, a picture frame, and this dresser- and it's been great!)

Again, my assistant Annie helping me take off the handles. 

I sanded it (very lightly because it was so rough anyways it didn't have much shine left on it and also because I didn't want to make a mess in our apartment), then I put three thin layers of yellow paint on it, and then Jamie put the coat of polyurethane on it (while the girls and I were gone for several hours).

I really love how it turned out!

I swiped one of Jamie's instrument lamps to decorate with (don't you love the new lamp shades he and Jason are making out of old sheet music??). 

I finally admitted to Jamie that we've reached the max on painted furniture in our home. But even as I said it out loud I knew I'll probably find something else to paint soon. ha!