Furniture redo disaster

We should probably rename this blog: Trisa needs advice....

Here's where my "project" is at now:

Anyway, it's been a discouraging couple of days. 

I probably should have started the staining process before I put so much time into this thing.

Here's the problem:

The pieces were so weathered on the top, that in order to sand them smooth and flat, I sanded through the veneer and into the particle board stuff. I tried to cover it with wood filler, but that worked only a little. So, I prayed a dark stain would mask it enough. 

Nope. 

It looks awful.

So, now:

1) Do I just paint the whole thing white? or a different color, like brown or black? (black's not really my decor color...but maybe for resale?)

2) Do I try to bang out the top and put a fresh top on it?

•  (I'm not really sure I could find a solid piece of wood wide enough. (THis top has a center piece, and then is trimmed out with solid wood.)
• I would plan to router the edges for a nicer look. 
• Then maybe add molding underneath the top, so the rounded edge wouldn't look so funny? 
• I don't really want to pour more money in this, because who knows if I will end up keeping it? 

So QUESTION: Can I still salvage this? or should I just fix it enough to resell it? 

I was so excited to have furniture in my room! And for the armoire for my craft stuff. Should I just live with it? 

Bedroom furniture revamp part 1

After seeing THIS post, I was amazed by the transformation, and thought "I can do that!" So, I hopped on craigslist, and found a complete bedroom set for $40! The set includes 2 nightstands, like the one below, a headboard, 2 mirrors (not sure what I'm going to do with those), and an armoire. 

The armoire. I'm so excited about this.

 I plan to use it for my craft/sewing/scrapbook stuff.

They had been sitting in a garage for MANY years, and were very weathered. I wondered if I would be able to even salvage them. But, I'm willing to try!

The veneer on the sides were starting to peel off, so I helped chipped them all the way off. Some of the sides weren't too bad, but I had to stay consistent. Trust me, it was VERY tedious.

I wasn't sure what I was going to do to fix them, but then I got the brilliant idea of putting beadboard where the veneer used to be.

Then, to try to keep the look going, and "update" it, I added a piece to the drawers:

After LOTS of sanding, and caulking, and repairing holes with wood filler, etc. they are ready to be primed!

And that is where we are on the project now. I put this on here, so motivate me to keep going. I don't get a lot of time to spend working on it, so if it weren't for the big mess in the garage, I might forget about it! 

Any tips, suggestions?!