I Painted a Dresser and Now I Regret It, Maybe?

Guys, remember how stoked I was yesterday about the fact that I was finally doing a DIY project? I felt so energized by the fact that I wasn't just sitting on my laurels, waiting for things from Pinterest to appear in my apartment. I was making change happen!

If you don't know much about me, you should know that I rarely DIY anything and I feel like people who do are easily the most put-together human beings on the planet.

So in attempt to look and feel more like them, I decided to paint a dresser which was recently donated to us by a friend who will soon be moving across the country. 

I told you guys I'd post pictures, but honestly, I'm not sure I love it.

We were trying to go for an ombre gradient kind of thing like this:

Via

We ended up with this:

Merp...

I don't know...I just feel like it looks a little sad. I'm a huge fan of color, but Daniel convinced me that using neutral colors would make it easier to blend with our room and take into a new space if we ever move.

He's probably right...I guess, but I don't know. 

It just feels like it needs some razzle. 

Maybe a dash of dazzle. 

Maybe a careful combination of the two, I don't know.

I put some stuff on it to help make it a little bit cheerier.

And in a way, I sort of like it.

Here's the before and after:

But I just can't decide. 

Part of me wants to fix it somehow. 

I feel like the concept is there, but it just needs a little something.

Anyone have any ideas? 

I'm thinking of somehow adding just a pop of color somewhere or a stencil or something.
I don't know, what do you think?

Also, feel free to tell me if I'm just being crazy, and it's actually the most exquisite piece of furniture you've ever seen in your life. By all means, tell me if you had a strong emotional reaction wherein you began weeping with joy the moment you laid eyes on it. 

Via

Though I strongly doubt you did.

Home Decor as Procrastination

Today is one of those days where, in an impressive attempt to avoid several far more pressing responsibilities, I've decided to do some home decorating!

It mostly involves actually getting art up on the walls. We've been nearly-hoarding a pile of artwork in our living room for the past few weeks. I'm not sure why it always feels like such an arduous decision when it comes time to hang a picture, but it does, and that's why we usually just watch Orange is the New Black instead.

Some art we finally decided to toss on our wall

So we put some art on our walls. Fine. No big deal, right?

Right.

Well, that's not all folks. Today, I am doing something that I would rarely ever think to do. Actually, Daniel and I are doing it together, but I suspect he will do most of it. 

Whatever. 

We are painting a dresser!

This dresser, in particular:

A neighborhood friend of ours is moving (sad!), so she needed to get rid of this little guy. We've been looking for a new dresser, so she gave us this one for free! Daniel and I tried to fit it in our car and couldn't, so we ended up walking it home, causing a fantastic scene in our neighborhood. A kind stranger saw us struggling and leant us a dolly. It was a Christmas miracle. 

I usually prefer having love-worn, vintage pieces in my home to having new things. It's sappy, but I just love imagining where my furniture lived before it came into my life. This dresser, in particular, came with a little hint to the life it had before my friend owned it:

"Sara Silver, May 8, 1992"

Seriously, how cute is this? I found this in the bottom drawer, and while it definitely makes me feel like Sara Silver is haunting our new dresser, I hope we make her proud with the new paint job.

Daniel is deglossing it now, so I'll post pictures when it's done, and I will be honest about what percentage of the work I actually did.

Have a happy weekend! What are you up to? 
Are you doing anything as productive as painting a dresser?