...vanity? turned laptop table...

A few weeks ago I was driving home from the grocery store when I drove past a garage sale that seemed to have some interesting items...so, I stopped...despite all the protests from my kids...

ME:

Ooooh! I see a garage sale...I'm just gonna drive by to see what they have...

THEM:

Noooooo! Maaaaah-aaaaahm! Not another garage sale!!!! We just want to go home!

ME:

Why? Do you have dates? I'll just be minute...

THEM:

There's not even anything good there...let's just go!!!

ME:

Wait...I see a little table thingy...let me just run up to see what they're asking for it...I'll leave the side door open and you guys can wait in the car...

THEM:

FINE. But hurry up...!

ME:

(Nothing...I was already on my way up the driveway...)

That little "table thingy" I saw ended up being a roughed-up old-ish broken vanity stand (at least that's what the homeowner thought it may have been...). The lady was asking $4.00...sounded good to me! From the car I hear, "Come ah-ahn, Mom!" I shove my money toward the seller and throw the old table in the back of the van, not really knowing what I'm going to do with it...

Fast forward about 3 weeks...the table is still sitting in my garage and my darling husband is curious about what the plans are for it. 

ME:

I don't know...but isn't it cool?

HIM:

Sure, it's OK...but what are you going to do with it? How much did you pay for it again?

ME:

$4.00...maybe we can put it in Kate's room?

HIM:

If we put another horizontal surface in her room, she's just going to fill it up...you know that.

ME:

I know, I know...we'll think of something...

Fast forward another day or so...

At the time, I had my laptop set up on the dining room table...all of my "papers" spread out around me...

My husband says, "Maybe we should bring the old computer table up for you so that you don't scratch up the top of the dining room table with your laptop."

ME:

No...I don't want to bring another piece of furniture into this small space...it'll look ridiculous...

HIM:

Well, you can't just sit there indefinitely...you're taking over.

ME:

(first of all...thanks, honey...)

Well, do you have a better idea?

HIM:

As a matter of fact, I think I do...

Enter the old $4.00 vanity...

Here's what she looked like before she got her facelift...

This first photo actually shows the back of the vanity...

...in the photo above you can sort of see along the top the lighter line of wood toward the back where a mirror probably once sat...

Here's the front...looks like there was a drawer or shelf here at one time...

The top was all roughed-up and water-stained...could definitely use some work...

A few coats of primer and paint and here she is...all dolled-up...

I enlisted the help of my awesome husband and he cut & "installed" a shelf (which I painted Valspar's Academy Grey) & crossbar for me...

Then I used the same Academy Grey and stenciled a Moroccan-ish pattern on the top of the table...

I heavily distressed the top and then dry-brushed the top with white...I continued to distress the top until I got a look I was happy with...

Then I lightly distressed the legs and darkened-up all of the distressed areas with antiquing glaze...

I love the way she looks now...I have the perfect space for all of my stuff...and the perfect little nook for her in my kitchen...

Here's where I'm linking up this week:

Between Naps on the Porch

My Romantic Home