Thursday, August 18, 2011

Steampunk

Do you know what “steampunk” means? I certainly didn’t! I had to check out wikipedia’s definition and, of course, ask my husband once I heard that word being tossed around. As it relates to furniture, I have decided it means anything that is a little bit industrial, a little bit funky, and a lot of fun!

I started out with this chest of drawers that has been sitting in my garage for months. I have mentioned often that furniture “speaks” to me, but this one was strangely silent for a long time…

P1000305

…Apparently, that’s because I wasn’t speaking it’s language!

Then one fateful day, I spotted this cute dresser at Twice Lovely:

twicelovely

…and I knew…

My chest of drawers, however, wanted to be black and distressed. It was an old piece to begin with, so I needed to work with that.

steampunk chest of drawers

I purchased vintage valve handles from etsy. They came with the original dirt still attached! My love for ‘vintage’ ends there, so I ran them through the dishwasher.

steampunk dresser

I used 1/4” x 1 1/2” machine screws to attach the hardware. There isn’t much of a ‘neck’ on these valve handles to hold them away from the drawers, so they were a bit awkward to use. So next I purchased 1/4” nylon spacers to place between the valve handle and the drawer, and that makes them much more comfortable.

valve handle drawer pulls

They handles are secured by 1/4” nuts on the inside of the drawer.

vintage valve handles

That’s all there is to it! But I love the fun, funky look of the piece. I think this would be fabulous in a boy’s room!

steampunk dresser

What about you? Have you jumped on the “steampunk” bandwagon yet?

vintage valve handle drawer pulls


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Linking up here.

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This project was featured at Simple Home Creations, House of Hepworths, and Beyond the Picket Fence .


steampunk 010


51 comments:

Sharon @ Elizabeth & Co. said...

Oh how fun! I have never heard of steampunk, but I like it!

Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions said...

I have not, Korrie, but I can certainly appreciate the fun and funkiness to these pieces! I love this and the handles are the best finishing touch.

Rosemary@villabarnes said...

I'm very familiar with Steampunk, and you did it justice. Love the use of valves as handles.

Full Circle Creations said...

Love the valves! Great job! I hadn't heard steampunk before.

Holly

Rhissanna said...

Oooh, yes. Love Steampunk. Linking this to my blog!

Gypsy Heart said...

No, haven't jumped on this bandwagon yet but I love this piece! You're right...it would be perfect for a boy's room. It's hard to believe the dirt arrived with the valves.

Great job, as usual!
xo
Pat

Jenn Erickson said...

I'm a huge Steampunk fan, and absolutely love the idea of using the vintage valve handles for knobs. Your dresser turned out so beautifully! Now to check out that Etsy shop...

Jenn

Twice Nice said...

What a fun new word! I'm using it on my teenagers tonight to show off my newly acquired knowledge. Ha! That is a darling piece. I've seen the valves used before on a couple of different projects. I'd love to try them if I could locate some. In the meantime I'm on the lookout for something else to steampunk with! Deb

Jenn said...

I love it! Did you just paint with black paint?

imsteelefullofscrap said...

Love it though have not seen anything you made that I dont the handles are so neat great idea!

Beth said...

Turned out beautifully and I love that word!
Beth

The Painted Parlor said...

Oh my goodness, I love!! How cool is that! Love it, love it, love it

:)

Catie @ Catie's Corner said...

Cute!! Great job. : )

gail@My Repurposed Life said...

yep, loved her dresser too! (caught it recently)
Your chest of drawers looks great! Love the color and the handles! I need some pulls for a kids desk, thinking about abc blocks for that one.
gail

Sue@Uniquely Chic said...

OK...this one is amazing...love the creativity! Those valve thingies used as pulls, love it! You said it, perfect for a boys room!

Honey I'm Home Blog said...

VERY cool! Love the handles.

Warmly, Michelle

Ali Richardson said...

That is definitely cool looking and unique! Yes, definitely awesome in a boy's room! I've hear of it before, but more in relation to jewelry...like using old watch parts to make a pendant or something like that. This looks WAY cool :)

Unknown said...

Gorgeous! A fun industrial look with the valve handles and I love black furniture. The before is exactly the size and style of piece I am looking for to complete our bedroom~I keep checking Craigslist and kijiji for a great deal.

Anonymous said...

A-DOR-A-BLE! Cutest idea ever to use those valve handles as drawer pulls - you are brilliant! LOVE that dresser - great job :)

Sarah said...

love it! you chose the perfect pulls!

Debbie--http://refreshrestyle.com/ said...

it looks great! love the knobs!

Taunnie said...

Steampunk? You learn something new everyday. I love the way this peice turned out. Brilliant idea using the valve handles!

The Polka Dot Closet said...

Fabulous one of a kind piece!

Carol

lillie mae acres said...

LUV it! Great job.

Jena @ Involving Color and Home said...

I've never heard of steampunk before now! I love what you did with the knobs. Looks great!

Unknown said...

how fun!! Love it!

Maury @ Life on Mars said...

I've never heard that word! It's hilarious and the dresser is amazing! Seriously great work!
afabulesshome.blogspot.com

Maury @ Life on Mars said...

oh, and I'm following you now!

Lauren @ My Wonderfully Made said...

LOL . . . I just noticed YESTERDAY that one of the categories on Graphics Fairy is "steampunk" and clicked on it -- cute, cute stuff. Well, maybe steampunk would not like to be described as 'cute'. LOVE the valves for the drawer pulls -- pinning this idea for sure! Great transformation on this piece!

Coley said...

Looks great!

Marion said...

Your blog is very beautiful! I'm following him. And this furniture was very good!

fran @ eleven-o-one said...

I haven't heard of "steampunk". Seems it should be called "steamfunk" instead since it's kinda funky and fun. Love the piece. You're right...great for a boys room.

Dawn said...

My son has that same dresser in his room. I've been debating on what to do to it. NOW I know! LOL!
His room colors are red, blue and grey. I have a little black thrown in there for good measure. So I guess I know what I will be painting the dresser...:) Thanks for the inspiration! I just need to find some cool pulls like you did to complete it.

Megan Gunyan said...

That's AWESOME! I love using the valves for the handles! What a great idea!

Kristal said...

I love the Steampunk style. I have even read a few Steampunk novels and enjoyed them. But I never thought about applying the tag to furniture! Way to think outside the box! I had seen the red dresser with the faucet knobs. I really like your in black, the knobs show up so much better! Black is just one color I think is beautiful but I'm scared to do it ~ LOL!

Thanks so much for your answers to my questions. I finally got the glaze/stain on and am going to wait a few days to finish it up. Besides, we are going to spend the weekend at the beach!! Yippee!!

XoXo,
Kristal

SImple and Serene Living said...

another great success. i am not steamy or a punk LOL, but do know it is a big trend for some.
Laura

niartist said...

WOW! What a transformation. Oh you give me hope that I can do this myself one day!!!! Really, WOW. I'm bookmarking so I can remember this!!

I love transformations! I just turned my secretary into a bar area in my dining room. I really hope you'll stop by and check it out: http://niagaranovice.blogspot.com/2011/08/picture-is-worth.html

See you soon, I hope!
Artie

Karyn said...

Yep, LOVE it.

Amy @MoMomma said...

Wow. I would buy this drawer any day! Great job! Please come link up here at my Mommy Monday link up http://momommamoney.blogspot.com/2011/08/mommy-monday.html

Erin of HomeSavvyAtoZ.com said...

Ooooo! This turned out beautiful! I love the multicolored knobs!

Cassie Bustamante said...

i love this one, korrie! so cool for a boy's room i think!

Good Time Charlie said...

This is fantastic, I love it. Please link up with me Friday!

Tanya said...

That looks so great! We are refinishing some furniture and I am still trying to decide what type of knobs to use. This will be added to my list.

MrsC said...

Oh my! I have three boys and they would all love this dresser! Now to convince my husband...

Emily said...

What a clever idea!! Your use of valves instead of regular knobs is really brilliant :-)
I am your newest follower and came over via a comment you left on my blog.
Thanks for sharing!

Emily
emilysummers-designer.blogspot.com

Revi said...

Hi - I'm new around here, and just found you. I LOVE your valve-handled chest! It looks great in black. Glad it finally spoke up!
Drop by sometime...
-Revi

Dee ⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️ said...

I love the difference! The draw pulls are just perfect for the piece. I would have never thought to run them thought the dishwasher to clean them......very clever.

Dee

Allison @ House of Hepworths said...

Love it so much I featured you at my weekly Hookin Up with HoH party!

Feel free to stop by and grab a button if you'd like!

xoxo

Allison @ House of Hepworths

Michelle said...

So gorgeous!

Mimi said...

I love this Korrie! I've been searching for valve handles ever since I saw this. I have an old window I'm making for my daughter as an entryway place to hang coats, etc., and these are just what I need! So happy to say I found 5 at Habitat Restore! It's great how something so simple can make your heart sing! :) As always, thank you so much for inspiring!

Doreen said...

Found your lovely Steampunk dresser via Pinterest. I'm adding faucet handles to an old sewing machine table drawer that I'm repurposing. Your tutorial is great! Thanks!
Doreen
http://altered-artworks.blogspot.com