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The Daily Utah Chronicle

The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

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Want your voice to be heard? Submit a letter to the editor, send us an op-ed pitch or check out our open positions for the chance to be published by the Daily Utah Chronicle.
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Dress Up Your Furniture with DIY Projects

Considering my rich, expansive relationship with DIY, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to learn that no less than 80 percent of my room has, in some way or another, been torn to shreds by my own two hands only to be rebuilt, repurposed or otherwise rejuvenated into a fancy something-or-other that is personal and one-of-a-kind.

I sat down the other day, notebook in hand, to take count of my creations — though “experiments” might be a better word — only to find that the tampered-with furniture vastly outnumbered anything nice and store-bought. This blatant, lethal obsession with homemade goods has produced a desk; storage shelves turned clothing/shoe display; a yarn-lined, wall-hung hat display; and basically anything else visible in my bedroom.

It has occurred to me to stop — the amount of money burned in my room’s constant revitalization is surprising and sad — but no matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to shake the habit. My bedroom is my baby, after all, and nothing less than superior maternal instincts will suffice in my care for it.

dresser

My newest addition to the family is an old IKEA kids dresser. After being jolted awake by the aggressive morning sun on a day scheduled for some much-needed sleeping-in, I hastily scooted my bed across my room and away from the window, leaving a sad, empty little space on the adjacent wall.

The space was hankering for some filler, so I made a trip to the nearest D.I. for inspiration. Their eclectic selection of old, inexpensive furniture is an absolute dream for the avid DIYer. Rarely priced over $30, the pieces have an inherent charm that demands to be altered, and since it’s so cheap, there’s no guilt when an alteration goes sour. Within minutes I spotted a light brown dresser that I deemed perfect for the project. Its basic design and miniature size could easily fill the space without drawing too much attention and becoming distracting in front of the boisterous black-and-white accent wall it was slated to stand against.

My idea with the dresser was to apply a white-washing technique (where wood is coated in a thin white paint and then distressed so some of the original wood peaks through in an effort to look rustic), but instead of using white paint I would lather the dresser in a few different shades of turquoise and beige for a more bohemian look. The trick with white-washing is to keep the paintbrush relatively dry when applying the paint to the wood surface. This can be done by blotting the brush onto a paper towel or dishrag before making contact with the surface. (However, if you plan on white-washing something yourself, I advise you to check YouTube out first — the endless supply of DIY tutorials on that site is astounding, not to mention a hundred times more thorough than I could ever hope to teach it.)

When the paint dried, I swapped out the basic wooden knobs for an assortment of ceramic ones from World Market (which, by the way, is insanely affordable while still remaining stylish), adding a hint of warmth, color and texture to the dresser. To finish it off, I added a fern (potted in an oversized ceramic mug that I picked up at a San Francisco farmer’s market), a plastic dinosaur, a metallic turtle, a cut crystal rock and a really cool deconstructed sketch of me that a friend drew for my birthday. When I stepped back, the dresser seemed small and disconnected, so I added some hanging mirrors above the dresser to tie the space together.

I still can’t decide whether my compulsive addiction to DIY is healthy or not, but for what it’s worth it does bring a goofy smile to my face. DIY is a splendid excuse to step back from the frenzy of real life to relax and be creative, if only for a moment.

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