New Antique Dresser in the Kitchen

Hello Friends!! There is nothing like starting the week off with revealing a new project! I’ve been on “project organize the house” since all the Christmas stuff has long been put away. Really analyzing each area around our home to make sure it functions well for what our needs are as a family. I’ve been organizing our closets, and actually have a fun project planned for a back hall closet, which all got started by the re-evaluation of our current shoe situation in the kitchen.

We’ve had this bench in the kitchen for about 7 years now. When you walk into our house, you walk right into the kitchen, with no coat closet to hide all the shoes. So we came up with this system, using antique crates to hold the shoes, tucked under this simple bench my hubby made me, so I could plop my toddlers up there to help them with their shoes.

It worked great for years, but fast forward now 7 years later, our kids are no long toddlers, and can tie their own shoes. And as they have grown so have their feet, meaning the crates were holding their smaller shoes for a while, but we were starting to run out of room, which meant the shoes weren’t always getting put away.

Then one evening a week or so ago, my husband decided it was time to give our son a haircut. He set up his faux barbershop in the kitchen, the only problem was the sun was going down and their wasn’t enough light. I reminded him that this is why I’m always asking him to put additional lights in the kitchen, because during the winter months, the lighting is completely insufficient. Unfortunately, because our house was built in 1846, adding in some extra lights is no simple task, which is why it hasn’t happened yet. He grabbed one of my lamps from the dining room, propped it up on the bench and began giving our son a haircut.

The addition of the lamp in the kitchen, made such a huge difference, I didn’t want to go without it now! So now my wheels are turning. “What if we add a console table in here so the light can stay?” I asked, which meant we would need to find a better storage solution for the shoes. I will share all my plans soon for how I plan to give our tiny closet in the back hall an overhaul, but since we no longer needed to store the shoes in the crates under the bench, that meant we could bring in a different piece of furniture.

At first, my hubby graciously offered to build me something. I loved that idea, but the impatient side of me didn’t want to wait, lol! Remember, I wanted that lamp to stay, so that meant finding a solution now. Last summer we were “gifted” an antique dresser from an older couple in our church who was getting ready to downsize. It had seen better days, but my hubby and I agreed it had loads of potential. So in the basement it went until we thought of what to do with it.

It was the perfect size for in between the two windows in our kitchen, and just the right size to hold that sacred lamp that was now providing all the additional light we desperately needed. So one afternoon last week, I went into the basement and gave that sweet little antique dresser a makeover.

It was pretty simple actually, and a few hours time, it was finished and ready to be put to use.

To say I LOVE it is an understatement. And the best part is, I totally used what I already had, so the cost for this little transformation was $0! It is a win-win, and now we have plenty of extra light in our kitchen at night, and it makes me so much happier.

I’m sad that our needs no longer include the bench in the kitchen, and that our kids are no longer toddlers, but I have to stick to my own advice. When it comes to how we decorate our homes, it has to still remain practical for our family needs. And our family no longer needed a bench to put tiny humans on who couldn’t tie their own shoes.

What we did need was more storage for our shoes, and additional lighting in our kitchen. The good news is, with more shoe storage in the closet, the kids are old enough to actually use it. If I’ve learned anything, it’s that our kids will use the systems we put in place – i.e. as long as there are hooks they will hang their backpacks and jackets up, same with putting their shoes away. Actually, they have even expressed thanks for an easier way to find their shoes and grab the pair they need.

I will be back tomorrow to share the step by step tutorial for how I transformed this cute, little antique dresser!