Craigslist Bedroom Set - FAIL

It all started with a dresser I found at a re-sale shop! So pretty and vintage - GORGEOUS! The legs, the hardware, the little drawers - perfectly perfect. Price? $250 with a mirror. But there was NO mirror so they just scratched that off the tag but didn't adjust the price. WHA? The wood was beautiful but if I was going to get a set for the guest room, it absolutely had to be white! So I felt a little guilty thinking of painting over it. So I gave up on that idea. Enter Craigslist...

I found an "antiqued" bedroom that I absolutely loved and it was white! No stripping, scraping, sanding, painting, etc. Can you hear the angels sing? Fabulous! The seller lived over an hour from me and so we e-mailed about price back and forth until we were both satisfied. So I packed some snax, dragged my sister (aka partner in crime) and her mini-van along and headed out.

Here were the pictures from Craigslist:

Pretty right? I asked her about any scratches, damage, etc. She said there were a "few nicks and scratches" but it was in really good shape and THAT was the reason she wasn't SUPER flexible on the price. Well, I get there and it is basically a MESS! The paint was peeling, it was a brown set painted white but with a textured paint. UGH! I told her the pictures and the actual pieces differed significantly and she was slightly offended. She even stood right there while my sister and I tried to "tactfully" discuss it in her garage.

The problem was that I LOVED it - I could see the "bones" of the furniture and the lines were so pretty. It was exactly what I was looking for. Plus we drove over an hour to pick it up - gas and tolls add up fast!

I asked her to come down more and she refused. She knew she had me over a barrel having just drove this far but she did offer to throw in a desk and hutch that "sort of matched". SCORE - I was taking anything to make me feel like I was getting a "deal". How bad could it be? WELL...the hutch was industrial paint grey and the "desk" (I use that term lightly as it more closely resembled a meat cutting table from a slaughterhouse) was a lime green disaster.

SERIOUSLY! I would not have used this in my garage for my power tools. "Sort of matched"? R U KIDDING ME? We were trying so hard not to laugh - unbelievable. LOL

My sister (NEVER the voice of reason) told me to take the set, so I did. I hated to leave it there but I knew if I took it, I had SO much work ahead of me. We packed it up and now it sits in my garage while my poor little car now sits outside. I need to get busy!

I do love it - it is like Clark Kent and I know it can be Superman! It is just going to take a lot of time and effort to get it looking like I want it to. I started on it today - I did A drawer. ONE drawer out of the nightstand. :-) Seriously?

They didn't use primer or sand it so the paint is just peeling off as I sand and yet sticking like the dickens in other places.

I am going to keep the original hardware and simply rub it silver. Here are two knobs and a pull I did today. I do like the way they turned out. I thought about doing chalk paint and distressing it with black knobs but I think for this room silver and white is the way to go.

The headboard is pretty and so is the large mirror so I am excited abut it. I guess I just wish I could sand over the rough patches and spray it white. The textured paint will be a nightmare.

The funniest part is I had NO interest in even doing the guest room! Updates to follow ... LOL!