Room decor? help? ???

Question

Im re-doing my bedroom but my dresser has a lot of abuse on the top of it

can spots ect... from awhile back is there any way to fix that?

also 2 pieces of my furniture match bit what my tv is on and a little comuter desks and chest dont.

is there anyway to make this less noticable

im on a budget

about $300 .

so i need to keep the furnitue,

also my wall is blue any good decorating ideas?

Answer 1

blue ideas for room decoration http://fengshuicolors.info/blog/index.ph...

Answer 2

As far as the furtniture goes, you can get a stain-hiding primer and oil based paint and make those over in no time!! Also, if your dresser drawers, etc. have handles and k***s, you can go to Lowes and change them all out to match for just a few dollars each!

If the top of your dresser is too bad, you can sand it prior to painting. Also, you can visit Lowes and have a piece of glass cut to lay on top of it (also cheap) so that future abuse doesn't happen. (If you are unable to cure the existing problem, lay a piece of decorative fabric, or a collage of your favorite photos, underneath the glass.

Blue could go two ways:

1. (cheapest) Go shabby-chic. I'm sure family members would have some accessories to help you get the ball rolling. The cool thing with this design is that you get to mix old fashioned with modern. Blue is a great start-off color. (Here's a link: http://www.target.com/Simply-Shabby-Chic...

2. Be inspired by the beach! Have any old sea shells stuck in your closet from a beach trip? Place them in shadow boxes with a rough-painted finish. Buy some airy, low priced, sheers and keep window treatments and bed coverings light. Fill a clear vase half-way with sand instead of water and add your favorite silk flowers.

Also, sometimes if you don't know where to start, find a great photo that has one of your room colors in it. Look at the other colors and pull from the design. The same goes for wall art, or any other major piece you can center your room design on.

Just some thoughts! Good luck! And $300 can get you there!

Answer 3

It sounds like MP and I probably have the same decorating taste/ideas. I have, in the past, refinished a top of a table or dresser with collages as suggested by MissPriss however I used magazine cut outs, I love gardening so I used photos of flowers or nature photos. I've also photo-copied my favorite photos of family and friends and printed them out, you can do black and white which goes with any color and gives a vintage feel or leave them in color.  You could even do a scrapbook type theme using other items in addition to the photos!  If the dresser is not solid wood but a veneer you'll probably have to do a light sanding to get the paper to adhere to the tops.  I've done this to dresser drawer fronts as well as the tops.  In addition you could also use colored tissue paper in whole sheets (depending on the size you need) or torn into bits or a combination of both photos and tissue paper.  I really liked the way the photograph collage turned out the best.  If you have someone who'll put quarter round (or you if you're handy like that) around the dresser top you can use seashells.  You'll need floor adhesive (like they use when tiling a floor), grout for filling in between the spaces between shells once the shells are in place and dry (you can even tint the grout to match your blue;-) and of course seashells.  You'll have to make sure the shells are all about the same in height or adjust the thickness of your adhesive so that they are level and then just top with glass.  It looks amazing when it is finished.  For the finishing touch I used sand that I had brought back from St Pete years prior and sprinkled it on the surface and a little on the glass and topped with ocean themed candles and larger shells.  At Christmas (doesn't necessarily need to be Xmas to do however) I put white lights under the glass and it looked magnificent!  My example of this is about 4 1/2 feet by 18" - 2 feet but it is my absolute favorite of my handiwork.  It does require time and patience.  If you decide,  ultimately, to top with glass your possibilities are limited (and height or thickness) only by your imagination as far as what you can put between the table/dresser/desk top and the glass surface.  You can purchase small semi-clear rubber peices (sticky on one side to keep in place) that hold the glass in place so that it doesn't move around.  I bought mine where I bought the glass custom cut but I would imagine that any hobby shop or even walmart would carry them.  I wish I had a photo of the seashell table top I did!  

Regardless of what you do, if you're going to adhere something - be it paint, picture or cloth, most likely you're going to need a light sanding.  This is particularly true when painting.  I painted a table top a solid color and when dry I placed leaves on the surface held in place with rolled tape (or you could use two sided tape but more expensive) and then spray painted another color over the surface and the leaves.  Once it's all dry I remove the leaves and tape and then seal your work (see below).   You could do this with any desired shape - seashells, leaves, stars, etc.  To keep your work safe in the future I'd go over it with a coat or two of polyurethane or a much easier way is to spray (from a can just like spray paint) clear enamel in either a matte or gloss finish.  Don't do this indoors unless it's a well ventilated workshop.  The dollar store in our town does carry a generic brand of spray enamel for a couple bucks.  Be sure not to over-spray, instead wait until dry and spray again; you can do this until you're satisfied that it's sealed.

The best advice I can give you is to work with what you have, with what is inexpensive and readily available to stay within your budget.  Most of all... have fun!