Last summer my number one craigslist spotter (a.k.a. nnK) forwarded me a craigslist ad for a garage sale that was in our neck of the woods. It was accompanied by just one photo. This one.
Do you see what I see?
Yep, a tiny dresser! You know I simply can’t resist miniature furniture of any kind. Ironically, nnK hadn’t even noticed the small dresser, just that there seemed to be a lot of furniture and it was close by.
Unfortunately, the sale started on a Thursday at 9 a.m. I have to be at work at the day job on Thursdays at 9 a.m. Argh. We ‘day job’ people miss a lot of the bargains this way.
So I said to myself “you know what? it never hurts to ask! maybe they would be willing to hold it for me, or better yet, let me come over Wednesday evening and pick it up.” and I sent them an email. I even offered them a little extra cash.
And guess what?! They were happy to let me come over early for it. They were the sweetest older couple. Their children and grandchildren had played with this little dresser, but now they were all grown up and none of them wanted it. The sellers really wanted it to go to a good home. I assured them that I would take good care of it. I’ll admit, I didn’t exactly mention that I would be painting it. You know how that is, right? Some people are just simply anti-paint. I always listen for clues, you can usually tell if you’re dealing with anti-painters. But this little dresser really wasn’t made out of a beautiful grained wood (I believe it’s probably maple). It didn’t have a beautiful time-worn patina or anything like that.
Sadly, I could have sworn that I took some ‘before’ photos of this one (other than the craigslist ad photo above), but dang if I can find them now. Argh. So that brings us right to the ‘after’.
I did my usual prep, light sanding and a wipe down with TSP substitue. I wanted two layers of color on this one, so I began with two coats of Miss Mustard Seed’s Layla’s Mint. Next I added two more coats of MMS Linen. In hindsight, the Mint was a waste of time. It barely shows on some of the edges. Also, the contrast between the Mint and the Linen isn’t strong enough for the little Mint that does show to even be noticed.
But I can hardly be upset about that because I totally love how it turned out! I got some fabulous chipping.
I replaced some ugly yellow floral 70’s porcelain knobs with vintage glass knobs. In fact, these are the knobs that came off farmhouse dresser no. 5. I’m happy to have put them to good use!
I thought that it would be fun to stage all of my furniture pieces for Christmas during the month of December. For this one I used a boxwood wreath that I just purchased at Target. It’s the 11″ wreath from the Smith & Hawkin line. It was on sale for $17.99. It was Rhonda’s comment on my mirror post that inspired me to use the small wreath on this piece, wasn’t it a great idea?! Thanks for that Rhonda!
I added a little box of vintage mini-ornaments.
And my favorite tiny Christmas elf.
Here’s a photo without the wreath just to give you a better look at the mirror.
This little dresser is a bit bigger than my usual mini dressers at 35″ tall. For the moment I’ve put it in my living room, but I don’t plan to keep this one. It’s just a tad too big for me.
So it is for sale. Although I won’t be too sad if no one buys it and I just have to keep it after all.
I want that for Abby! It would go perfectly with her doll furniture! What are you asking for it?
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I would love the tiny dresser…..price and would you ship to PA?
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I’m so sorry Karen, I don’t ship. Cash and carry only.
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Thanks….I will admire from afar and look for one to call my own !
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Hopefully you will find a darling one in your neck of the woods to call your own!
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So sweet!
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It is sweet!
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Love the dresser and the elf couldn’t be cuter. Curious about how you keep the tree toppers from falling? Are they mounted?
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Great eye Paulene! I was wondering if anyone would notice those. I’ll be posting about them in more detail later this week … but here’s the secret in advance, I used Stick Um Candle Adhesive to hold them in place.
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I did miss them glad Paulene mentioned them. They are fab! Vintage I am sure. There is a whole world of Christmas past to gather isn’t there? So I am assuming there will be tour of your home all decked out?
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I am planning to do a Christmas tour post!
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What a cutie pie dresser! the elf is a cutie too!
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Thank Darrielle!
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Hi there! I’m so upset seeing your blog post. I passed one up at a fair this weekend that I really contemplated hard about buying but then didnt end up buying it. And now seeing your cute dresser I’m bummed I didn’t get it. So… Soooo cute!
Allie
Little Billy Goat
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Well hello Allie from Little Billy Goat! Love your paint 😉 As for your comment, I have been in your shoes many times. Passed up something at a garage sale and then later really regretted it! And there is no going back 😦 Well, next time you’ll know better when you see a cute little dresser!
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OMG! How could their kids have not wanted that dresser? And then you make it absolutely fabulous! I so wish you shipped, I would snap that cute little baby up in a flash! Great staging too!
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Thanks Barb!
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Turned out great-everything miniature sized is always so cute!
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