Forget Fear, Just Do It!!!!

There are some things in life that we love for reasons of sentiment, but that doesn't really mean we want to flaunt them in our living room as a center piece. Such was the case for my childhood piano, which lost it's home at my parent's house and found it's way under our TV back in December. 

I just couldn't bare to part with it, but on the other hand, couldn't bare to look at it day in and day out either. A few years ago, the entire thing was the same color of it's horridly bland and boring bench and music stand, so I sanded the entire thing to prepare for painting, but decided that I loved the way it looked sanded, so I just changed the knobs and gave it a quick coat of polyurethane to protect the wood........then I was devastated because the polyurethane completely changed it's look again! Exhausted and frustrated, I just gave up and decided to at least be happy that the actual wood grain could now be appreciated. 

Now that it was back in my possession, it was time for a new make-over!!! Besides, I'd discovered chalk paint since then, AKA the coolest paint ever. I started bold in color, modestly in surface area, knowing I could always add more color, but taking it away would probably be impossible.

A little here, a bit more there.....I probably spent more time taping then I did painting! Taping sharp lines is hard!

Patrick and I both agreed it'd be fun to change up the symmetry of the boxy black lines on the face of the upright, so I cut out a design using a few different scrap book pages and decoupaged it in place, which got tricky when I realized the birds on the scene would be upside-down on the opposing side, so I fixed the issue by disguising them with more flowers. 

Then I went to one of my favorite fish and find stores (Habitat for Humanity Restore) and got an old leaf that no longer had a matching table (for only $3!!!!), painted it to match the piano's new look and used it as the entertainment stand. 

A little sanding here......a little antiquing wax there.....a clear coat of wax everywhere.....

.....and new glass knobs to finish the overall vintage feel.......

WAL-LAH!!! I love that you can still appreciate the wood grain without sacrificing color. 

Out with the boring, and in with the interesting and fun piece that has lots of history.

I wont lie, though, it was pretty scary getting started on this project! I was a little terrified of ruining it. But in hindsight, I'm completely happy with my decision to jazz things up.