Early this past spring, I was on the hunt for furniture for our girls' room makeover. They had a mish-mosh of pieces that didn't coordinate and needed more space. When I spied a local garage sale had a vintage French Provincial set, I hopped on over. (Bedroom makeover coming soon!) Turns out a good friend was helping her family with the sale and showed me this dresser. I instantly knew it would make a fantastic Volkswagen ...oh yessss...
This is an Art Deco waterfall chest of drawers. It was marked $5 and she told me I could have it for FREE because it was junk. (Thank you, Julie!) Again, my brain says, "Bring it on!" Am I crazy? Maybe, but life is more fun that way.
So, now I have two Art Deco chest of drawers (or tall boys) awaiting new life and my first pick to work on was the second one. I recently used those glass pulls on my
French Script dressing table, so now this gentleman stood naked..but not for long!
DIY TIME
To get started, I needed to remove that snaggle-tooth veneer. There were two layers of veneer both on the outside and lining the inside, but my
towel-soak method worked like a dream.
It peeled like butter off of hot toast. Two layers in one fell swoop! Funny the things that can make you giddy. Now I have a clean slate to start with and the just need a light sanding.
The face of the cabinet had this weird carved strip that kinda creeped me out because it looked like eyes staring at me.
It's beautiful in its own right, but wasn't going to suit my end project, so off it goes. It's being saved for a project yet to be determined. Nothing goes to waste around here!
PRIMED
After this big boy was brought inside, I gave it a priming coat and then set to work on my vision. I removed that scalloped piece from the bottom front to give it a clean look.
About two years ago, I had seen a waterfall chest turned into a Volkswagen bus, and I promised myself that if I ever got my hands on another, I was going to give it a try. I even told my friend, Julie, when she gave me the chest my plan was a bus. Those vintage VW vehicles are so absolutely fun and who can resist those curves?
I like to get creative with pieces like this, and I wanted to just let it all hang out and really go for it. I created my stencils with cardboard or used plastic lids, etc., and eye-balled the design.
Can you see where I'm going with this? You have to look close...
THE DETAILS
I decided to use
my favorite furniture color with contrasting white for the finish. With the help of
Hickory Hardware, I was able to get the pulls I wanted to complete the look I was after.
*Thank you to Hickory Hardware for providing the pulls for this project.
I also had this sweet gem shipped in from the UK via eBay and gave a sneak peek on social media on my upcoming project. This is the icing on the cake. (Come follow along to join in the fun - just click on the icons up in the top right.)
BEEP, BEEP
Okay ladies and gents, it's time to introduce you to one of my favorite makeovers ever...Meet BEEP.
I'm one proud mama and couldn't be happier that this "junk" is now a funkified Volkswagen bus wannabe.
My heart goes pitter-pat over those
wire pulls for windshield wipers, and I love that the turn signals are
wooden knobs.
Isn't he sweet? I have to tell you that I had another "God wink" because the day I was staging these photos, I happened to stop in a thrift store and found those almost new BLUE chucks and in my size!! I never shop for me and was giddy to bring them home. They don't even look worn!
Hard not to fall in love with this wheeled-wonder dresser complete with chrome accents, isn't it?
It will be a teary goodbye when I send this guy off to his new home, but if you love him too, you can find him in
my shop. I know he'll find a good home. sniff...sniff. (UPDATE: BEEP went to his new home on 8/26)
SHARE
In addition, pin and share if you've loved this Volkswagen makeover. I'm sure others would love to meet BEEP too!
Up next, this Dumpster Diva...she's next on my makeover list. ♥ She's all done with
her new look!
Additionally, more of my projects like my Volkswagen bus:
It will be a teary goodbye when I send this guy off to his new home, but if you love him too, you can find him in my shop. I know he'll find a good home. sniff...sniff. (UPDATE: BEEP went to his new home on 8/26)
Up next, this Dumpster Diva...she's next on my makeover list. ♥ She's all done with her new look!
