On When You Should Listen to that Little Voice Inside Your Head...

The one that says "stop now" or "just let it go, already...", or my personal favorite "I can't believe you thought this would be easy...."

Sometimes I amaze even myself with the lengths I'll go to in order to make something look the way I want it to.  I know my family already thinks I'm crazy.... and that's okay.  It's when I start agreeing that I know I have a problem.

Case in point....

I recently finished this small trunk at the foot of my bed.  I'm using it to store additional bed linen and such. 

I found it at a sidewalk sale about a month or so ago, but it started out like this...

Trust me... it looks better in the picture (and that ain't sayin' much!).  It had some type of sea grass/reed-ish (I know... not a word) stuff wrapped around the outside.  The top & bottom of the "box" and the lip of the lid were trimmed with bamboo.  My first thought was to paint the "box" portion and refinish the top with a dark stain and wax it smooth.  Easy peasy...

Not so much.... After pulling off all the sea grass stuff, I was left with the glue that attached it all over the wood.  No amount of sanding would ever make the surface smooth enough for paint.  That's when I decided I'd cover it with fabric.  That's easy enough...

And I was still planning on refinishing and staining the top.  That's when I started running into trouble and my stubborn side refused to listen to the reasonable side.

After days of sanding, and wood filling, and sanding and filling again, I had to admit defeat.  The wood on top was in such bad shape, that the more I sanded it "smooth" the more the top splintered.  The more I sanded the bamboo trim, the worse it got.  And the itty bitty pieces of "reed-ish" stuff kept popping up between the lip of the lid and the trim.  Pig-headed as I am, I actually used tweezers to try and remove the little bits in between....

It's kinda' like chewing gum on your shoes.... the more you mess with it, the stickier it gets! After a week of "fixing" it, I finally lost it and ripped the trim (and five million tack nails) out.  I filled all the holes left behind, and started over. 

This is what I wound up with...forgive the "photo overload", but it makes me feel better!

Old White on the top (the one portion that COULD be painted...)& one of my favorite french inspired textiles on the outside.

And just 'cause I like to shake things up...

A little Louis Blue on the inside  (disregard the additional holes from the numerous hinge placements.... I had to take a break from wood filler for a while!).

 Next time, I'll listen to that little voice.... and just go with the flow!





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