Where'd You Get That? Card Catalog Edition

One of the most commented-on items in our home is our card catalog, which currently serves as our baby's dresser.  Visitors often ask where we got it.  We were lucky to find it at SWAP (if you haven't been to SWAP, you must go; do yourself a favor and borrow a friend's truck because you're sure to find several items you never knew you needed).  

When we bought it, it was kind of in rough shape…  

It had been sandwiched between two other card catalogs for all its life, so the sides were unfinished.  

And the panel at the bottom of the catalog was totally gross.  

 Enter Rosewood & Brass Restorations.  Jenn came in with all kinds of tools, tape measures, stain, and reclaimed lumber, and in the blink of an eye she had the sides finished-- they're gorgeous-- and the bottom panel looking fabulous.  She created a custom stain (which I didn't even know was possible), and it matches perfectly.  Check out the photos of the finished product on her blog!

One extra bonus of having Jenn work on the catalog was giving everyone in our neighborhood the chance to see a woman- and a young, adorable woman at that- pull up in her minivan, unload all manner of power tools, and go to work.  

The labels on the drawers look like they're typed, but I'm really not that ambitious… I just created text boxes and used a typewriter-ish font in Word, then printed everything on cream-colored paper.  

The drawers are the perfect size for baby clothes.  Later on, I can only imagine what they'll hold… one friend suggested that the catalog could become a Barbie mausoleum.  Can't wait to type the text boxes for those drawers!