You know a few weeks ago when we were all making these lofty resolutions?  Well, I knew what mine needed to be – clear out the garage.  Finish the darn projects that had taken over my life in the form of a nonexistent parking spot for our massive minivan.

Do you want to know the “garage project count?”  1 MCM dresser, 1 club chair, 2 wicker chairs, no wait 4 wicker chairs, 2 outdoor sofas, 2 shelves, parts for a new bench, my other street chair find and 1 marble table.  I think that’s it… pretty sure.  Just ran to check and I missed the campaign dresser.

First on the list, the street find.  Remember her?

So much potential huh?  But lacking in the drawer department.  What happened to the other 4 drawers?!?  We’ll never know.

My thought was to keep 3 drawers in the middle and make the two sides into shelves.  So, I did just that!  Using a few tools (mostly my dremel’s) and a bit o’ brute force, I was able to remove the drawer innards.

Then I purchased some birch plywood, the nicest of the cheap stuff they sell at Lowes.  Cut ’em to size, stained them and whispered sweet dreams of gorgeous bar accessories to them.

I tried so hard to match the existing stain.  It wasn’t easy and if I’m honest with myself, it’s not perfect.  After 3 attempts, I called it a day and went with the best option.  I talked myself off the ledge by reminding myself that no one would really notice… not with all the stuff I was going to cram on the shelves.

The worst part of the piece was that it had been seriously mistreated.  Lots of paint, gum, crap of all forms was crusted and fused on it.  Stage 1 involved a cleaning with Murphy’s Wood Soap.  This stuff was amazing!!  It got rid of most of the yuck.

But this below?  Well, that took a hair dryer and a scraper.

This strange alienish glob had made it it’s mission to ruin all my hopes and dreams of pretty (and clean).  It’s difficult to tell, but that sucker is about the size of a half dollar – and stubborn!  Once I heated it a bit, it came off in one piece (!!!), without any damage (!!!) within 5-10 seconds (!!!).  Mind blown.  The hair dryer also took off paint flecks  – such a fun trick to have up your sleeve.

Next on the agenda?  Fixing the blotchy stain.  Which I did with a rub down of new stain, and then I sealed it all with 2 coats of polyurethane.

Ta Da!

Not too shabby for a piece I nabbed from a random corner, for free!

And as for the dreams of a cocktail, well those will have to be put on hold for now.  I so wanted to fill the shelves with glassware and barware and underwear, but hey, with a toddler running around the house grabbing and throwing everything he can get his hands on, I think I’ll just wait until he’s off to preschool for that… And then of course, I’ll have to lock it all up when the boys hit high school.

Oh, the evolution of a home with a bunch of wild animals inhabiting it.

Present company included!