As good as new!

A few weeks ago our realtor invited us to go "shopping".

Chris and I drove to the other side of the island (about 1.5 hrs away) to the address he provided. It was an abandoned house on a beautiful beach front property. Apparently the former owners had built some additions onto it, then were told by the county that they didn't have the correct permits. So, they tore the additions down and left the place to be sold. It is in complete disarray on the outside and inside.

 But it held some gems that we couldn't pass up. We piled:

• one full sized guest bed (mattress, box spring and frame)
• a glass topped table (we are using it on our lanai)
• a short wooden bookshelf
•  a wrought iron baker's shelf with bamboo shelving and 
• two privacy screens 

into the back of our rented U-haul pickup and happily drove home with our free furniture.

Last week I turned the dirty, rusty cobwebby baker's shelf into a shiny, clean, re-painted shelf unit. I love how it turned out. Check it out: 

Before:

I used a wire brush and sandpaper to get all the rust and chipping paint off. I scrubbed the wood with a scrub brush. Then I taped off the bamboo shelves and drawer fronts with painter's tape and newspapers. After all the prep work, I put on two coats of Rustoleum spray paint with a hammered texture.  And voila!

Here it is in our dining room. Please excuse the bare walls. I'm still working on that. :)

I'm not sure I love the contrast between the dark baker's shelf and the light dining set. I'll figure something out there. 

Anyway, stay tuned for some more projects I'm working on and other goings-on in the Wilkins household.