A Sweet Yellow Dresser Story

This is the story of my daughter, Lisa (she is 20 now) and her favorite number growing up. When we would ask her how many stars were in the sky, her answer was 152! Ask her any question with a number answer and her answer would always be...152. Why? We never knew. It was just her number.

On another note, I always felt that I should teach her the three things that my mom taught me before I left home...how to cook deliciously, clean spotless and sew perfectly.  These lessons have served me well though my adult life. So I taught her all of these.  I also wanted to teach her how to be independent and be able to have nice things by taking junk and turning it into a treasure.  A lot of my home is from garage sales, tag sales, thrift store buys and fixing other peoples junk up for myself and others.

One day, Lisa and I were at a thrift store and happened upon a very tired and dated dresser. I knew the lines were wonderful and when I opened the middle drawer I saw this...

Wow! It's a Drexel

Yes, Drexel, this is a very well made dresser and an expensive furniture company. (Sorry, this was before blogging and I didn't take a before picture).  So just imagine a worn, wood toned dresser with federal style hardware. So then we opened the top drawer but it would only open half way. Very curious! There was some hardware that I pushed and this is what happened...

Original green paint on the desk organizer.

Oh my goodness, the top drawer became a desk!  Then we looked at the price...you got it...it was $152!
I knew that this dresser was meant for Lisa and a lesson that I could teach her.

You see, she didn't need a dresser because her room had a built-in dresser (it is now our exercise room since she has moved out, you can see that post here). But I knew that her years living at home were limited and that when she moved out she would need a dresser. So I made a deal with her. This dresser could NOT come into the house until she painted it her way with me teaching her how, every step of the way...and since she tends to be a procrastinator, I also told her that I would only buy it if she worked on it and finished it that very week.  She agreed. Then I knew I had to make a deal with the thrift store.  I asked if they would take $100 and they said yes right away.  The rest is history. Lisa picked yellow and wanted to distress it. We purchased vintage hardware on eBay. Lisa has moved out, but her dresser is still here until she can get a bigger apartment to make room for it.

My daughter painted the dresser AND the wall.

NOTE: You should be able to click on most of the pictures to enlarge to see further details.
These parties I love to link up to or check out my Blog Parties tab
Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps On The Porch
Make It For Monday @ Cottage Instincts
Motivate Me Monday @ Keeping It Simple
Just Something I Whipped Up @ The Girl Creative
Making The World Cuter @ Making The World Cuter
Twice Owned Tuesday @ House Of Grace
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday @ Coastal Charm
Power Of Paint @ Domestically Speaking
White Wednesday @ Faded Charm
Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style
Piece of Work Wednesday @  Primitive & Proper
Good Life Wednesday @ A Beach Cottage
Strut Your Stuff Thursday @ Somewhat Simple
Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Chic Cottage
100 Ideas Under $100 @ Beyond The Picket Fence
Show And Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home
Furniture Feature Friday @ Miss Mustard Seed
Frugal Friday @ Shabby Nest
Remodelaholic Friday @ Remodelaholic 
Vintage Inspiration Friday @ Common Ground 
Creative Girls Blog Hop Friday @ The Girl Creative
Saturday Nite Special @ Funky Junk Interiors
Strut Your Stuff @ The Saturday Morning Blog
Sunday Showcase Party @ By Stephanie Lynn
Anything goes party @ Type A
ReStored It Wednesday 
Before & After party @ Thrifty Decor Chick