A Prairie State Great...

I want to tell you about some gems in the state I live in.    Hold on to your seats.  First, I'm going to tell you something you may not know.  Just because we live in Illinois doesn't mean we are from Chicago.  That's a popular misconception about Illinois residents.  We aren't all from Chicago though everybody thinks we are.   There are a lot of cute little towns outside of the Windy City.  Today, let's visit the town of Utica, Illinois.  

You will want to go to Starved Rock State Park.  It's voted the #1 Attraction in the State of Illinois.  (Just make sure you stay on the paths people.  Pay attention to the signs when you are hiking.)  Then you will meander into Utica to visit some great little shops and restaurants.  You want to make sure to go to their annual Burgoo Festival held in October on the Sunday before Columbus Day.  A word of advice though, if you are making the trip to Utica (any time of the year is a good time to visit) be sure and leave a lot of room in your car so you can load it up with the fantastic furniture you will find by a talented lady named Michelle from Harmony Paintings and Home Decor.  You can find her store in the heart of Utica at 122 Mill Street.  Better yet, bring an empty car trailer because you are going to want to own everything she transforms.  She has some serious talent going on.

Check this one out.  Michelle got her hands on some dressers that most would have let go to the burn pile.  They were that bad.  Here's the one we are going to look at today...

Michelle knew there was hope for this lot of dressers.  She had recently been inspired by a dresser that Miss Mustard Seed had shared.  With that in mind, Michelle set to work on this one step away from the burn pile disaster.  

It took lots of stripping, sanding and scrubbing with a wire brush to get all of that paint out of the oaks grain.  Once the prep work was finished, she began the makeover.  She had a slight setback while putting a coat of poly on the drawers and dropped the brand spankin' new can on top of the dresser. It was a mess but undeterred Michelle carried on.  

Here's a peek at the dresser mid-way through...

It's taking shape!!  

Michelle painted the dresser using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White.  Then she free handed a flower design on the drawer fronts and swapped out the old knobs for some up to date glass pulls.  It turned out so amazing, she ALMOST kept it for herself.  That's a common theme with furniture flippers, much to the chagrin of our spouses.  

Let's take a look at the after...(I'm so excited!)

Tada!!!

Who'd a thunk it!!  Seriously, who'd have imagined that outcome?  (Michelle, that's who!)

Do me a favor today, will ya?  Head on over and meet Michelle at her Harmony Paintings And Home Decor Facebook page.  Let her know you saw her on Furniture Flippin'.  Our motto here is always to pay it forward people.  What you put out there, you'll get back.  

Thanks so much Michelle for sharing your fantastic furniture flip!