Maddie's new old bed

Last summer, my sisters and I happened upon an antique fair in Island Park. I saw these bed frames and fell in love with them. And the best part, they were only $50 a piece. Not being an antique expert, I didn't realize all of the work that would go into making them look nice. I had seen my Aunt Nita refinish some furniture, and it looked time consuming, but pretty straightforward. I broke out the sander and the dust mask and got to work in our driveway, and holy cow! I knew I didn't have the patience for that. Then Johnny started playing in the dust that made it's way into the garage and I freaked out thinking that it might be lead paint. Finally, I did something that I should have done in the first place, I researched how to refinish old furniture.

First I got a lead test kit, for my own peace of mind. It said that if the applicator turned red, then you were dealing with lead paint. Well the applicator stayed white, but after about a week the little spot that I swabbed started turning a little orange. Then after about 3 weeks it turned a dark red color. I didn't know if that meant that I was dealing with lead paint or not, but just to be safe I decided to follow the instructions for refinishing lead paint furniture.

First I stripped the entire bed...MUCH easier than sanding, and no dust, bonus! Plus the stripper was much more gentle on the veneer than the vibrating sander.

Then I glued and clamped the parts that were peeling or falling apart. This was about the time that I started thinking "what have I done!?"

I primed the wood and then used an oil based spray paint to "seal the wood" and any yucky stuff that might seep through. It didn't look exactly smooth so I primed it again, on top of the paint, and rolled on some latex paint. It turned out super cute. I have another bed for Lucy that I plan to do next summer. It should be easier the second time.

I'm open to decorating ideas. Any suggestions? The cute little vanity is from my sister Marilyn...one of the best hand-me-downs I have ever recieved. I repainted that too, but it was in pretty good condition to start with.