Treasures from the Mesa Auction, Part 3

When I dismantled my hobby room, I knew there would be a few things I'd need to have: storage and storage and a bulletin board.  Today I give you some storage and a bulletin board.  Tomorrow?  More storage. And Friday?  The full room, in all its fantastical gorgeous glory.

I got this solid (re: heavy) dresser for $40.  Here it is.

Not the most beautiful, but the lines were simple, and it was exactly the right dimensions.  I didn't want another white piece (see this post), and I didn't want a dark piece.  So I went a little crazy, went out on a limb, and decided on . . .

. . . yellow.  This was quite brave for me. (See my chair featured last week?  They are cozy friends now.)  Admittedly, this is not the first yellow paint I tried.  The first yellow screamed, and I preferred a gentle purr, so I had to spray it twice. This puppy took six cans--two of primer and two of each color.

I'm thinking of waxing over it dark, just to soften it up a little?  What do you think I should do?

The handles are original, and I can't decide if I should leave them, paint them, replace them?  The knobs are clearance from Anthropologie, and they're pretty fun.  Recognize the old fan from the auction pile (click here)?  It WORKS!  And it works better than any new fan!

My second project today is not from the auction.  I always struggle with bulletin boards and how sloppy yet handy and necessary they can be.  I saw this picture in a magazine (and found it on the internet, thanks pinterest), and I wanted one.

I loved the idea of shutting the mess but being able to access my necessities easily. I loved the color too. I asked Brad if he could help me create such a masterpiece, and he said in may be outside his realm of ability, but if I could find one in its original frame?

I headed to Qcumberz, that treasure trove for creative thinking, and I found this shutter, including its frame, for $24:

This could work. I was a little hesitant about the finish, since it was really slick and I knew there was not enough patience in me to sand, strip, baby it,  etc. I tried an experiment--I got a can of teal spray paint and  applied it on a small area, just to see what would happen.  It bubbled and separated and that was DEFINITELY NOT what I wanted.  I quickly grabbed a rag and wiped it off, thinking I would need primer, sanding, etc.  But as I wiped, I could see the dark color through the teal, and that was acceptable.  In fact, it was fantastic.  Here is what I ended up with:

This is how it looks most of the time--closed and neat, and here it is when it's open:

What really appealed to me about this project was the freedom I had to personalize what was inside the shutter. I knew I didn't need 36 square inches of bulletin board, so I played with space a little bit.  I got a package of four adhesive cork tiles, and after trimming three of them down, they fit perfectly along one side.

I knew I wanted a chalkboard or whiteboard, but what I really wanted was one that was magnetic. That was harder than I thought, since I only had 1 3/4 inches of depth to work with. While we were on our wonder trip to IKEA a few weeks ago, I found this:

It's a flat, orange magnet board and on clearance for $4.  Only problem?  It's not a chalkboard or a whiteboard.  I used a can of leftover chalkboard paint, and now I have exactly what I want.  I glued a few buttons from my button drawer on some heavy magnets for a little dash of color and added a magnet notepad. (the clear cube?  holds the chalk)

I covered a clipboard with coordinating scrapbook paper and hung it close to the bottom, where I can hang to-do lists or remove it quickly for use.

I needed a place to hang a few things, so I found the key rack and hooks at Anthropologie, and then I added a few trinkets from my kids--the painted J from Lily, Mom magnet from Micah, Ben's football pin from a few years ago.

I couldn't be happier with it.  What's your verdict? Are you going to search for an ugly old dresser and discarded shutter now?

Linking up to My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia and Sugar Bee.