Antique Dresser with Mirror

This has never happened to me before, but I can't, for the life of me, remember where I picked this dresser up from. :O

I love it because of the big, beautiful mirror and the original keyhole covers.  It was in decent shape, just needed a little help with the drawers. 

It is solid cherry (the top is cherry veneer) and I wanted to keep as much of it as possible.  I sanded the drawer fronts down and they had been filled previously, but they were still in ok condition.  I was hoping if I stained them dark it would hide most of the imperfections.  I also wanted to keep the top wood.  

When I was working on this I had already painted the mirror and my dear hubby comes into the garage and says, "Don't you think that would look cool with the mirror wood and the frame painted?"  Ummm. yes, but I already painted the freaking mirror!  The more I thought about it the more I liked the idea and so I went out to my hot-as-a-stinking-furnace garage and sanded off what I had just got done painting.  DH, I love you,  but stay out of my garage!  And, if you do come in there are only two things you are allowed to say:  "Do you need any help?  And, "That looks awesome just the way it is!" Understand?  

I like it and I'm glad he suggested it. ;)

 BEFORE

Someone had already refinished it once upon a time.  I found blue paint all over the drawer sides and bottoms.  I'm glad they did, but as you can see, the refinish job wasn't that great.  Sorry. 

 AFTER

*sigh*

The body and top two drawers are a light greige (one shade lighter than French Linen AS).  I love the color against the deep wood tones of the drawers, top, and mirror.  Cherry stains up beautifully.  Now, I will say, the top and drawers are not perfect.  There were water rings in the top that I couldn't sand out because I was afraid of going through the veneer, but they aren't that noticeable.  Same with the drawers fronts.  Up close there are a few spots where there must have been something on the wood, but, again, unless you are right on top of it you can't really tell. 

I did one coat of Java Gel from General Finishes and 3 coats of Varathane in satin. 

 The keyhole covers and pulls were fake brass, so I sprayed them with  ORB.  I love the contrast against the light paint. 

 The top is gorgeous.  You can't even see the water rings in this pic.  They are in the bottom right corner. 

 I love the detailing on the mirror frame and picked it out in white to contrast the dark top and the greige. 

The insides of the drawers weren't that great, so I sanded them out and then lined them with sweet, vintage paper (collage style). 

She's a beauty now! 

Antique Buffet in Coquille

I have this friend.  She is an amazing woman.  The kind of woman that should write a book about her amazing life.  The only thing is I'm sure she doesn't see herself this way at all.  I'm sure she thinks of herself as "just a mom" living an ordinary life. I hope, one day, she can look back at her life from a different perspective and see what a difference she's made in this, often times, ugly world.  She has a pure heart and a beautiful spirit.  She has raised amazing children.  Children whom have deserved extraordinary love and care and she has blessed them with it. She is talented, generous, and kind.  Qualities I hope to possess in half the abundance she possesses. 

So, on this day, Nancy, I am giving you a huge shout out for being some kind of 

WONDERFUL! 

Nancy and her husband were fortunate to buy their neighbor's land, which had a house on it.  This house was in pretty rough shape and they decided the best course of action would be to tear it down. I took pictures and can't find them now, but it was pretty spooky looking from the outside.  She was very brave for cleaning this place out.  She messaged me one day and said she found some things I might be interested in.  So, I braved this dilapidated house. climbed the rickety stairs, and saw this beauty on the second floor!  My hats off to both our husbands for breaking their backs getting it down the stairs.  

It sat in my storage unit for the last year and a half because the top drawer was missing and I wasn't quite sure what to do about that.  Well, I already told you about the Superman I have stashed away and he never fails me.  He made a few false drawer fronts for me and away I went. 

I recently tried French Lime paint from Maison Blanche and knew I just had to try it in another color.  I wanted it soft, modern, and sophisticated, so I choice Coquille.  It's a light greige color, a little more on the gray side than beige. 

I thought I was going to die waxing this beast but it was worth every stroke. ;)

 BEFORE

This is my husband's shop, not mine.  It's a good thing, by law, that half of what's his is also mine. ;)

 AFTER

Isn't she lovely?  Isn't she wonderful?  Imagine me singing that.  On second hand, don't.  I can't sing worth a crap. 

There are so many amazing details on this piece and I'm going to show you all of them, so sit back and enjoy the view!

 The detail on the "backsplash".  This piece is solid, including the back piece.  

 Thankfully it had a gorgeous top, so I sanded it down, gave it two coats of Java Gel, and 4 coats of Varathane. 

 You know the hardware is my favorite part.  I've had my eye on these babies for a while now, but needed a piece that was big enough to carry them off.  This buffet was perfect.  I normally stick to only two kinds of hardware, but there are three on this baby and I think she pulls it off swimmingly!

 Gorgeous detailing on the doors and the bottom molding. 

 Aren't these legs yummy?!  I love how the ball feet look waxed.  Yes, I'm weird. 

 This makes my heart thump. 

I couldn't resist doing a pop of color on the inside and she has these cute little drawers behind the door that were perfect for it. 

 I also had this left over fabric from Hobby Lobby.  I absolutely love the huge print and that it's not matchy matchy (which I have a hard time not doing sometimes).

 This buffet is actually going in a nursery and she's having a little girl.  I wanted to do something special for her so this is on the inside of the left door. 

 You would never expect it from looking at the outside. ;)

I drooled on it, but cleaned it up....