I’ve been going nuts with upcycling projects this year, thanks to the discovery of stencils and the generosity of neighbors who neatly pile furniture outside on the sidewalk when they’re done with it.

I’m particularly tickled with this last one: A dresser from Goodwill so scratched and ugly that nobody wanted it. With a clearance price of $1 and structural integrity (all the drawers worked, but the back panel on one needed to be re-glued), it was like gift from a DIY angel. I could see the magic.

First, I looked in the Magic Paint Cabinet and found some satin finishes I’d used on walls and other projects. A tin of teal paint was too dark, so I mixed it into white and came out with a lovely robins’-egg blue. Then some leftover white on the drawers. I had ordered glass knobs from my very favorite purveyor of such things, Lawless Hardware, but then as I got deeper into Pinterest I saw that I could just spray new life into the old brass knobs. I was saving this piece for a different place but I liked it so much I put it in my bedroom.

And then today I found three tables on the sidewalk, a round coffee or end table fraught with water stains and scratches, a square one that looks like it was forgotten about for 50 years, and a cabin-worthy low, broad pine coffee table that needs a makeover. Stay tuned!