September Challenge. From Boring to Functional #30dayflip

My husband challenged me to make him like this awful piece or it had to GO! After a lot of work he now Loves it and its staying :)

This is the before, except the doors went all the way up. I didn't think to take a picture until it was too late. I cut the doors off to make the piece less boxy.





The after. I painted it Lagoon blue. I made a shelf from the part of the door I cut off. I added some reclaimed heart pine boards to the top. It is in a room with a nautical theme.





The boards were the most difficult part. I love the raw natural state of the heart pine, but once poly was applied for protection it totally changed the look and feel of the piece (see the board on the left).... I was disappointed and set out to find another product to protect, but keep the raw feel... I finally found it at Joann's fabric, in a satin varnish by folk art!!!! The board on the right has 3 coats of the varnish, It turned out beautiful!





The top was secured by some decorative cabinet screws, I wanted to keep the nautical feel with exposed fasteners.





The basket and shark completed the look. And a wonderful door pull find, at a down town shop! They cost more than the actual piece of furniture! (I only paid $10 for it at a yardsale.)





My husband was very surprised and pleased with the outcome! He said he would have never thought I could make that "awful piece of junk" into something he would be proud to display in our home :) It was such a sweet compliment :) .... So I completed the 30 day challenge and won a bet with him at the same time.
Visit my facebook page for more ideas and I am selling locally :) www.facebook.com/roughlyrefined






Original article and pictures take http://www.hometalk.com/10738629/september-challenge-from-boring-to-functional-30dayflip site