Flea Market Facelift

Last week I was able to go to the Pickens flea market for the first time all summer. If you have never been to the Pickens flea market (which you probably haven't), let me tell you, it is an experience in itself. Just be prepared for anything. Even if you don't buy anything, the people watching experience makes it a worthwhile trip. Also, it is only open on Wednesday mornings, and make sure you get there early. Everyone is basically gone by noon. It opens at 5:30 a.m., but we didn't get there until about 7:30 a.m. and we were fine.

It was a very special day because it was Andrew's first time at the flea market! I've have always wanted him to experience this wonderful redneck place. We were on the hunt for a dresser for his new apartment at school. Here's what we found...

Isn't it ugly? I know, it's pretty bad. But I saw potential, and it was only $20! My mom and I were deciding whether to buy it or not while Andrew was taking some junk another great flea market find to the car. I knew we had to decide while he was gone because I was 100% positive he would not be for us buying it. He just wouldn't see the potential in this little treasure. Sure enough, he walked up and tentatively said "uh, that's not for me is it?" I smiled sweetly and told him yes, yes it was for him. I then assured him I was going to give it a complete makeover and he would never know it was the same dresser. Here is the process I went through of giving this little thing a makeover...

First, I decided the drawer pulls from the 80's needed to go. 

Next, I sanded the whole thing and filled in the holes from the drawer pulls with wood filler. 

Then I painted the dresser with one coat of light gray primer. Originally, I wanted to paint gray primer followed by a coat of black paint so that I could give it the shabby chic look by "scuffing it up." I thought it would look neat if the gray showed through. However, after painting the black, I decided not to scuff it up. 

The finished product! Not necessarily what I would have painted if it had been for me, but I tried to make it look somewhat masculine. I knew Andrew wouldn't want anything over-the-top. I wish I had gotten a close-up of the drawer pulls, but hopefully you can see them. It ended up being much more masculine and modern than I planned, but I was happy with how it turned out and really enjoyed this little project!