This piece was seriously rusted and busted when I found it. Poor thing was all creaky and hadn't been looked after in forever. Folks are always looking for bookcases and having one with glass doors is pretty cool because you don't have to dust the inside as often as you're used to.

So...I went to work.

We blew it off with the leaf blower and then wiped it down inside and out with a mild dish soap in a gallon of water making sure to wring the towel out super well so the wood wouldn't be "wet" if you know what I mean. Once it was wiped down I just looked at it for a few days trying to come up with a design for it that kept it as um...stoic as possible. Just seemed this piece didn't want to be "happy." LOL! It's pretty serious about that life. THUGS RISE UP!

The back of it was pretty busted so I removed it and added a piece of fabric to it using spray adhesive. Then I took the doors off and soaked the hardware in some rust remover solution. Next I sanded the whole thing down (did the doors by hand), stained the top, shelves and bottom with Minwax Dark Walnut stain using a brush on the top (it was pretty bad with water rings and whatnot) and a rag inside so I could get all the corners and whatnot pretty well.

I painted it in Benjamin Moore's Chelsea Gray (love this color) because it coordinated really well with the Waverly fabric I used for the back and followed that with General Finishes Pitch Black glaze wiping it off quickly on the sides but letting it set in a bit longer along the details of the top front and doors. Once I put it all back together, I finished the top, bottom and shelves with a polyurethane to protect the surfaces. I kinda like the thought of the painted parts getting a bit more weathered looking.

I like it. It makes me happy to look at. And isn't that really all that matters? That you're happy with what you're doing? That you're content in the knowledge that you can set your mind to do something and then you can make it happen exactly as you saw it in your head? And then...what you saw in your head is actually really pretty? Yeah...I like it. There is a bit of odd satisfaction in being able to find something unloved and busted and bringing it back to life in such a way it makes a statement. Just says a lot about so much. Yup.

Holla.

T-Monnie...Not Your Mommy's Tee-Tee