Vanity Makeover

4 Materials
$300
5 Weeks
Medium

This one was for a very special girl for her 16th birthday. When Courtney was only three, I flew to California with her Mom for a very intricate operation. She earned this. She is one brave little cookie.

About 5ish.. and one-off my favorite photos o

Now that she is turning 16... she makes fabulous decisions. I like to think it runs in the family. She wanted Rose Gold on her Vanity..and I had a beast of a time trying to get the shade right.

A few years later and her fun side is evident

Although this was a pretty vanity in its bare wood state- Courtney has way too much personality for an ordinary old looking piece of wood. This girl knew what she wanted.

Starting off...


I gave it a good scrub with Miss Lillian’s No Wax Chock Paint product in First Step Prep. It got all the nooks and crannies super clean. Followed with a coat of Prevention to keep the bleeding under control.

Start everything with this. Seriously.

Prevention is so important. I knew I would be using some light colors, and I’d never go pale without some Prevention.

Choosing the right prints keeps me awake

I lose sleep wondering about the prints. I buy up nice vintage posters when I spot them and settled on this beautiful set. Courtney gave me artistic freedom, which sounds spectacular until you stress about every single decision. My mind sounds like this: WillshelikeitShouldiusetheseIsthisokShouldiusewhiteWhatifshehatesit? Thanks Court.

The Decoupage step

After removing all of the hardware from the doors, I start the Decoupage process. Tons of water in a spray bottle. That’s my secret to a bubble free surface. Simple Modge Podge and water. Stroke, spray , apply, spray, spray... a wet print is a flat print.

Lots of painters tape. I seal my edges with the base color. It gives me nice clean lines. This beautiful white is Miss Lillian’s No Wax Chock Paint in Snowflake. Later I’ll add Onyx and Steel from this same brand.

Gold leafing is not my thing. It amazes me that it’s anyones thing. I mixed some Rose Gold Mica Powder with Miss Lillian’s Rose Gold Paint for the shade that I prayed would please Miss Courtney. Yikes!

And some Rose Gold Hardware....plus i used some Swarovski Crystals on the prints and hand painted a little rose gold onto their lips and hats.

Swarovski crystal earrings...

And done

Here is the finished piece. There are more shots on my Facebook page. I still haven’t gotten around to watermarking them all...this piece took forever. Because I was super slow and terribly busy with my real job taking care of Seniors in the Assisted Living-

but now that I’m done I found time for this...

And here’s Courtney today with her Brother. She loves her vanity and has absolutely no clue how much I stressed. It needed to be perfect for this brave little girl. I can’t believe she’s sixteen. How did that happen???

Thanks for reading and I’d love to see you follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest or right here on Hometalk.

Cheers.

Tamara Lee

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  • Melinda Speaks Dagenhart Melinda Speaks Dagenhart on Sep 01, 2019

    Awesomely Inspiring! I do the same thing with my Projects, I research Pinterest and DIY along with Blogs, then.... Plan, Plan, and Think, Think! But once I begin it’s like Therapy! This piece is so Outstanding, I can hardly come up with a word to express my admiration for your artistic ability. Did you get the paint Supplier to sponsor this project? If so, how did you do that? I have a Kitchen Reno I’ve been working on slowly for the past year! Just about finished and I’m thinking I’d also like to put a DIY online?

  • Nancy Nancy on Sep 01, 2019

    Oh my goodness, where do I start. 1. Where did you find the dressing table? Its gorgeous. 2. I'm sure you did stress over doing this piece. You did such a fantastic job and utilized som many different things. You brought those black and white pictures to life. I love it! I wish I belonged to you so I could get something special. You and your grand daughter are both very special and lucky to have each other.

  • Johanne Palange Johanne Palange on Jan 01, 2020

    Now here's a piece of true artistry. Absolutely gorgeous. Often times you see a nice looking wooden piece of furniture which gets transformed into plain (ugly) white and they call it a makeover. In what universe? Your creation is a show stopper, truly memorable, something that just makes the décor on its on. Beautiful. I love it. Congratulations on your stunning masterpiece.

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  • Gma Gma on Oct 19, 2019
    What a beautiful piece - even b4 - awesome job though!
  • Connie Sherman Connie Sherman on Jan 14, 2021

    This is truly a labor of love.. this piece is so unique it will always be a show stopper. I bet she was blown away. Her bedroom will have to be designed around this piece as it sure demands attention. I'm not a fan of painted antique pieces but I love this! You've outdone the typical make over . Stunning

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