get it done OR get it gone

I went through this terribly unfortunate stage about six years ago where I had very low expenses and a relatively high income for a girl waiting tables in college. Somehow buying junk with the extra cash I earned tickled my fancy. The unfortunate part is that I'm left without a lot of this junk six years later. Most of it came from the River Market Antique Mall. And a choice few pieces would still make the cut if I were to buy them all over again. But the vast majority wouldn't even merit a second look if I knew then what I know now about my taste in design. 

It was the era of Shabby Chic. Where you'd buy an old door and make it a headboard. I know, a lot of people are still into that and God bless you. But I am way over it! Luckily I get to sluff a lot of this banged up stuff onto people who still do genuinely love it and make it look good in their houses. But these days I'm into furniture that doesn't need a sign on the back warning those over 100 pounds not to sit there for fear it might snap in half. We still have a few of those pieces in our house. You make the sign of the cross before sitting your behind upon its wobbly frame. Slowly, though, I'm eradicating those pieces. But alas our wallet is not in agreement with me on the replacement end of things. 

So here's where I made a nasty old trunk usable again. It was army green, dirty and dangerous with a heavy lid that slammed shut. Sound appealing? Why I ever bought it is beyond me. I used it as a coffee table for a few years and then left it in the apartment when we rented it furnished. When we reluctantly re-inherited it this April, I spray painted it gold hoping to freshen it up. It looked weird. So I STARTED painting it turquoise thinking it may look nice in Annie's all white room. I didn't get far at all when I abandoned ship not wanting to waste my time already knowing I wouldn't like the turquoise either. Thus the terrible two-tone action going on in the before picture.

Then came the get-it-done or get-it-gone ultimatum last week. 

We are desperate for a place to put extra linens and towels. John's only requirement was that we add better hinges if we were to keep it around Annie. So I ordered two toy box hinges from Rockler. Great company - they came super fast. And they work incredibly well. The lid stays open at any angle. You even have to put forth a little effort to get it to shut or open. So no risk of slamming down on Annie's itty bitty fingers. 

After I screwed in the new hinges, I scrubbed the inside which was super gross and quickly realized that I could never put anything white in there. That's when I decided to line it with extra upholstery fabric I had laying around. I caved a couple weeks ago and bought a new staple gun after the nightmare it was to staple the cornice board in our bedroom. It made lining the interior CRAZY EASY! (by the way, the cornice board has finally been hung and looks great)

I also ditched the old woven handles on the trunk. I'll replace those some other day.

For the inside of the lid I stapled the extra fabric from Annie's Roman shades. And buried in an old sewing box I found some ribbon to glue over the staples. 

Of course it wasn't until AFTER I did all of the fabric stapling that it dawned on me I should have painted the outside first. It wasn't a huge hassle but I certainly wish I had done it the other way around. Bits of turquoise will forever peak through behind the ribbon. I painted it with Benjamin Moore White Dove oil based paint that I had left over from the kitchen cabinets. 

And while it certainly isn't great and while it most likely will stay tucked into Annie's closet and rarely seen, at least its decent now. And at least when you open it, it's well lined enough with clean fabric that you wouldn't mind sleeping on a pillow that was tucked inside. But the trunk is still most definitely an I-wouldn't-buy-it-again piece from my six year ago flea market shopping days. 

So one more time...

and...