Thrifted & Relifted Link Party!! {Antique Hall Tree}

Ok friends! It's Monday and time for #ThriftedandRelifted!!

Today I will be sharing my antique hall tree makeover! 

You can join in the fun and share your thrifted and relifted find with us too!!
Be sure to join the link party below and follow all hosts on Instagram using
the hashtag #thriftedandrelifted

One thing I will never get tired of are amazing vintage and antique finds, especially when you find amazing items under $30!

Awhile back I found an amazing antique hall tree on a Facebook tag sale site. It was listed for $25. I was second in line and of course the first lady snagged it! It was an amazing piece and I was so bummed because I really needed something for my tiny entry that wouldn't take up so much space, it also had to be super cute!

Well, I guess the lady before me didn't find it so super cute. She ended up posting the hall tree on Craig's List a few days later and I immediately jumped on the opportunity to make it mine once again! This was a sign from the Good Lord that this piece had to be mine! I picked it up that very day. Little did I know I had my hands full!
Here is what the hall tree looked like before.

I knew right away that this piece would require a ton of work. The stain was caked on from years of climate changes and I'm pretty sure it dates back to the early 1900's. It's very light and the hooks & beveled mirror are original to the piece. The backing had an old moldy pillow that I just threw away. It was pretty gross folks!
 The first thing I did was scrub the wood clean. I actually choose to use baby wipes to clean wood surfaces, but this piece was so super grimy and because the finish was in such horrible condition, I knew that I was going to have to sand it down so I didn't go crazy with cleaning. I just made sure to remove all surface dust and spider webs!!
The major work of this piece was the sanding. I can tell you I spent more than 6 months of sanding this piece down to it's original wood. I started with 60 grit and then work my way up to 220. Because the stain was so old and just layered it was a major labor of love. Here are some more photos of the progress. Please for give the grainy cell phone photos, at the time I really wasn't thinking about a blog post. I was just focused on getting her all cleaned up for her new look! And believe me, like any female, I put her through many different looks!

This photo was about half way through sanding. I will have you know that I went through dozens of 60 & 80 grit sandpaper to get it just to this point. I used this sander and it was a life saver in getting into all the little areas of the piece. I did this for about two hours every weekend for roughly five weeks. When I got to a certain point I decided to just take a break and think about the exact finish I wanted. I was very hesitant to paint it because of all the hours of labor I put into sanding it down.

Here is what it looked like this past fall.

Once I got the piece down to it'a natural wood, I decided to replace the wood backing with something a bit more cozy. I purchased a vintage grain sack bag and filled it with foam and nailed it to the back of the hall tree. I was the perfect touch and went very well with the current decor in our home!

After the fall I was not loving the orange tone of the natural wood and at this point I was DONE sanding! I decided to paint it. I wanted a contrast so I decided to go dark...

Here she is all decked out for the holidays. I added vintage inspired crystal knobs I found here and painted her Urban Bronze by Sherwin Willams. I painted everything except the top of the seat. I loved the contrast of the dark paint against the natural wood, but it was also a reminder of all the hours, weeks and months of sanding I put into the piece. 

I'm going to be honest. I HATE how this piece looks painted in this color. I was so upset I actually cried that I let myself paint something I had promised myself I wouldn't do. So back to the drawing board. I did not want to sand the piece again and I also knew that bright white was out of the question. It took me a good two months to decide on a color... I finally decided on Gray Owl by Benjamin Moore. It was the color I used on my Antique Mantle makeover. You can read all about that makeover here. 

Here is what she looks like today.... 

I'm pretty sure she will be staying this color for awhile. 

Here is a run down of the transformation.

That's my thrifted & Relifted! 

Be sure to head over to all the bloggers in this loop and check out their thrifted & relifted makeover!

If you would like to participate and share along with us be sure to link up below! 

If you are sharing your thrifted & relifted projects on social media be sure to use the hashtag 

#thriftedandrelifted

Can't wait to see what you all have some up with!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by and don't for get to check out the blogger makeovers below!

http://www.honeynhydrangea.com/

http://www.hoodcreeklogcabin.com/

https://junquecottage.com/

http://gratefullyvintage.com/blog/

http://www.brightyellowdoor.com/

http://www.littlehomereloved.com/

http://onehorselane.com/

http://farmhouseforfive.blogspot.com/

http://www.spindleandrye.com

http://ilovemyfarmlife.blogspot.com/

An InLinkz Link-up