The Bane of My Existence

That would be the changing table. Remember how I bought it at the D.I. a couple months ago, and I was so thrilled because it matched the crib we picked out, and it was only $10? Well all it needed was to be painted black, or so I thought. I don't have any before photos, because I'm not really into those, so you'll just have to imagine it. Brown, shiny, a few dents and nicks but nothing serious. Ugly straps to strap your baby down with apparently, which I had Rob remove. So I thought it would be a quick and easy job, especially since I've repainted furniture before, and I so know what I'm doing.

Harty har har. What a nightmare. I decided to spray paint it because it's a Jenny Lind style changing table and I thought it would be way too hard to sand the varnish off all of the spindles. So I did a little internet research, asked my doctor if it was okay to spray paint ('tis, as long as you do it outside) and set out on this prospect. I bought a can of spray primer and a can of black paint. I was all stoked because spray paint is so cheap. Can you believe what an idiot I was, and I thought I could do the whole thing with one can of each?

Yeah. Well the primer went on all uneven and gritty, even though I shook it for plenty of time. I used a more expensive brand because I'd read that it worked great, but I wasn't happy with the coverage, it got all drippy and runny, and the can ran out before I'd even given half of it one coat. It's really hard to spray Jenny Lind furniture, FYI, because you lose a lot of the paint through the gaps in the spindles. So I was getting mighty irritated.

Did I mention I'd been waiting weeks to actually paint the dang thing because the weather's been so wet? Well I had. So on the first evening after work that was dry and sunny, I tried to get the whole thing done. After buying more primer (a cheaper brand that worked much better) and paint, I was obsessively bent on finishing and decided to work into the night. Observe:

Here I am at around 10:00 p.m., shaking my final can of black paint (wearing Rob's jeans; nice huh? My old "painting jeans" are a fool's hope these days.)

So spray painting something black after dark? Not a great idea. I know right? I was surprised too. I had my back porch light on and was using a flashlight, so it was looking pretty good. I let it dry for about an hour and had Rob bring it inside because I didn't want it sitting out overnight, what with Logan's unpredictable weather. Once he did I could see that I'd missed a few spots. I was so, so, SO angry. Especially because they were small spots and I'd finished my last can, so I'd have to buy another can just to fix them, and I'd already spent more on paint than I did on the table. I decided to call it a night and revisit the issue the next day. Plus I was exhausted, achy, and of course grumpy.

In the light of day the spots I missed didn't look too bad. They were also not very visible from the front, and since I am having the back against the wall, I decided no one would notice. I did put a little acrylic craft paint over a few of them, and if you look really closely you can tell, but I am so far past caring by now, so what's done is done.

So here we go, done right? If only. The changing table has three shelves, and they're not made of real wood, but of that crappy brown board stuff. Spray paint does NOT take well to that, but I didn't cover the shelves while I was spraying, so some got on and left this thick, gritty, dusty coating. I didn't really know what to do about it, but finally decided to modge podge some scrapbook paper on the shelves to cover them.

Since we've been out of town and running around the past few weeks, the stupid table just sat in the middle of our kitchen, making me more angry every time I went in there. One weekend I bought some baskets at Ikea for storing changing and other baby stuff on the table, but I had to wait until I had time to fix the shelves before I could do anything with those.

Finally last week I had the time and the willpower to get to business. I sanded and wiped and scraped until I smoothed down the crappy dust coating, and I bought some scrapbook paper to cover the shelves. They of course didn't have enough sheets of the one I wanted, and since I just wanted the blasted thing done I decided that rather than wait for the store to get more of that one, I picked a second one and went for a scrappy, ripped paper sort of look (the paper for the shelves also cost more than the table itself, joy). The other night after Rob went to bed I finished the table, and I am so, so, SO happy that it is done.

Here's a better view of the shelves. I am really happy with how it turned out, but it didn't end up being as much of a steal as I'd hoped, and never has a DIY project caused me so much grief or taken so much time, so I don't know if it was worth it. Ultimately I'm glad I have it; I don't think I would have bought a new one, and I think it looks pretty cute, so I guess I'll just put the bad experience behind me be happy about it.

Soon I aim to start painting the dresser (oh my goodness, I can't wait to show you the dresser, it's awesome). I don't think this will be as bad, because it doesn't need sanding and I'm using a paint I've already used before so I don't think I'll be thrown any curve balls. Also, usually by the end of June Logan has officially warmed up so I don't think I'll have as many weather issues. At least, here's hoping it's a better experience. I've got to get it done before I get more hot and uncomfortable, and since that is progressing steadily by the day, my time is running out.