a "green" remedy for a stinky dresser

This gorgeous gal was a heck of a deal at a local thrift store. I was in desperate need for some storage in the guest bedroom and the price was right...I mean, really, REALLY right. I did absolutely no investigating or nit picking - I just threw my cash at them before they had a chance to decide that the price was missing a zero, loaded her up and peeled out like I'd robbed a bank. On the way home, I named her Rose, because she was so beautiful and feminine.

The joke was on me because Rose smelled anything but rosey. Two days later my guest room smelled like what I imagine the conference room on Mad Men smells like. Rose was banished to the garage to air out. She reaked like cigarettes and I realized this was definitely why the store displayed her outdoors and why this gorgeous hunk of furniture was so cheap. Bummer.

I tried lining the drawers with newspaper.

I tried making baking soda paste and smearing it in the drawers.

I tried dryer sheets.

I tried bleach.

None of it was really working, so I relegated poor Rose to arts & crafts storage, since she could not realistically be used to store clothes, since I prefer NOT to smell like I've just walked out of a bar 24/7.

Fast forward FOUR YEARS,  till now, when I'm a regular user of Cece Caldwell's Paints - which I buy from Pattie Anne's Vintage Land. (Find them on Facebook here, tell them I sent ya!)  Some fabulous ladies in a facebook group I'm in were discussing all the applications for this fab product, and some suggested using the paint to get rid of odors. I was hesitant because I'd already tried all the "green" methods, and they just weren't cutting it. But it worked! I gave the drawers two coats of paint and they smell great. Very earthy, just like the paint. No more smokey odors. Hallelujah.

Now that I'd taken care of the odor and knew the piece was fit for reselling, I proceeded with the rest of her makeover. I decided to use Miss Mustard Seed's milk paint in "Ironstone" to complete the transformation. I really wanted to try a project using the bonding agent to see if it would chip or not. (milk paint is naturally very chippy, so if you don't want it to chip  or want more control over the results, add the bonding agent.) I mixed up the powder with some water, added the bonding agent, and went to work. No sanding, no priming, just slapping on the paint. I needed three coats of paint to get the look you see here. But the bonding agent worked fabulously and the paint looks great!

 I decided to play around with the final look a little bit. My goal was to accent all the fabulous details of this piece, but I was all out of dark wax and felt inspired to do something less traditional anyway. So I mixed up some clear wax with some Martha Stewart Metallic Paint in a dark Espresso-y black and applied that. (Applying one coat of clear wax first....then my new wax mix. Remember, you always want to protect your paint with something like clear wax first, otherwise the paint will soak up whatever you put on top that's dark. Clear waxing first allows you to wipe away the dark in some areas and leave it in others.) Looking back on the project, I realized that if I would have planned my metallic wax mix ahead of time, I probably could have just gotten away with two coats of paint due to all the depth and character that the dark mix makes all on it's own...but, I wanted to see how long it took me to get that bright white look. I am really happy with how all these various products worked together and the final result. What do you think? I think Rose looks great and lives up to her name now, and it makes me so happy that she doesn't smell like a chain smoker anymore either. Good for you, Rose. ;)




Cece Caldwell drawer interiors in "Smokey Mountain Grey"

Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint in "Ironstone" - this wonderful milk paint is coming to Stellar Junk later this month! Stay tuned for fabulous giveaways!








Ok, I have certainly rambled on long enough today... thanks for listening!

Till next time - Happy Painting! :)

- Jess