From the Deep: A dresser transformed

Attention: This post contains content that may be upseting to wood purists and octopusophobics. If the painting of second hand furniture or leggy sea creatures gives you the heeby jeebies, viewing is not advised. Avert your eyes! Step away! I'll give you a moment to take a little stroll.



Are they gone? Great, now onto this weekend's project.

As I mentioned in this post, I was thinking of adding a bit of whimsy to the dresser I scored on craigslist (loved the shape, hated the reddish finish). Once I got a good look at the graphic, I knew I didn't have the skills to freehand it. I dragged out the overhead projector (the same one I used to make the worldly sofa table) and got to work. It took a few hours, a sore back and a helpful husband but I'm loving how it turned out.

It's definitely a personality piece. Something I always try to add to every room but this is especially fun for our casual beach getaway. Did you notice this octopus is missing a leg? Oh the stories he could tell if our octopus could talk!



If I wasn't pregnant I would have sanded the whole thing down to the natural wood before I started painting. I didn't think I could manage that without inhaling half the finish in the process so the red stain had to stay. The white really tones the red down so its not nearly as bothersome now.

The step by step photos tell the story but obviously you could use the same technique with just about any image. I simply printed out the image onto a transparency, lined up the projected image onto the dresser to help me outline my leggy friend before filling in the rest with a larger brush + roller. (I found the octopus image at the always resourceful graphics fairy)

My only problem now is that I sort of like how it looks in the living room so much I'm not sure if I want to hide it in the bedroom. Hmmm. I might have to find something else for the bedroom. Decisions, decisions.

What's your verdict - amused or horrified?