This is either going to be brilliant or the biggest codge ever...

I don't love charity shops. I know everyone goes on about how they find all sorts of bargains and vintage things in there, but there seems to be a void in Basingstoke for this. We've got loads of charity shops but they're all full of the same polyester clothing, jigsaws and chunky dinner sets. There is one shining star though - the St Michael's Hospice furniture store. This place seems to be going from strength to strength recently and when I spotted a kitchen dresser on their Facebook page last week I popped up on Saturday to have a look. The one I had seen had gone, but there was a smaller, oak dresser there.

Now, I would love a cream kitchen dresser, but the ones I like are hundreds of pounds and sometimes a little bit too far towards the twee side of things. I long for a country style kitchen but what I have is a bad, nineties-style affair with ornate units that are so high I can't reach the top and nasty grey plasticky worktops. And that's before you start on the bad lay out and the oven that's hotter on the outside than the inside at times. I think the previous owners thought they were good at DIY. One day I will transform it... one day.

So little by little I'm trying to put my stamp on the place and I could see potential in the dresser although furniture restoration/decoration is something I don't know anything about. I bought it, prised off the ornate trim on the drawers before it even went in the car and the googling began.

Armed with the knowledge that I'd need fine sandpaper and an oil based primer for oak before I could do anything pretty, I headed to B&Q and found Stuart, proudly wearing an 'I've worked here for 30 years' badge. He did know his stuff, and I came away with a water based primer specially formulated to stop colour coming through and knots showing. Apparently this is better because it dries more quickly and doesn't smell as strong.



So on Sunday afternoon I sanded the top of the dresser, revealing that it's not all oak but most of it is, and that my plan to leave the top natural and paint the rest wasn't going to work because the wood is so dark. I am going to have to paint it all. I used a mini roller for most of the painting and a smaller brush to get into the gaps. I got bored and started rushing pieces so instead of ruining it I decided to stop at one coat and continue another day. The horrible knobs will be going too!

After one coat of primer it's clear this is going to be a long project, and that humping furniture around less than three months after major abdominal surgery, in the same week I conquered the ironing pile, isn't the cleverest thing I ever did. I'm coming to the conclusion that I'm not the most patient patient and have returned to knitting for the time being!

Total spent so far on dresser
Dresser £50
Primer £14
Sandpaper £3
Mini roller set £3