1940's Chest of Drawers

I've been working with Roxanne from The Rustic Shed for about a year now and I just love her to pieces.  She is a picker and I am not so we have a fantastic relationship!  She loves to find projects and I love to fix them up, so I think we make a pretty fantastic team! :)

She had this chest of drawers (and it's companion which is coming tomorrow) in storage and asked if I could do something with it.  She liked The Ugly Duckling and wanted to know if I could do this poor little thing the same way.  Well, of course!  But, I've been wanting to do something with wood and library pulls so I thought it would be the perfect candidate with those smaller faux drawers on top. I couldn't wait to ditch the hardware, too.  It seriously was so awful.

Should I tell you the story of the hardware for this piece?  I think I'll skip it for now because it makes me a little bitter and I still have visions of the perfect choke hold....  I digress.  Needless to say I've been waiting and waiting and waiting for the hardware and when it finally came it was wrong....ANYWAY

Here it is in all of it's 40's glory.

BEFORE

AFTER

I sanded the top drawers down to the bare wood by hand so I didn't accidentally sand through the veneer, which would have completely crushed me and I prefer not to be crushed so I wasn't taking any chances!  I sanded the rest of the piece lightly and sealed it with shellac before painting.

After filling the holes with a stainable wood filler I did one coat of Dark Walnut from Minwax on the drawers.  Java Gel has been my go-to lately, but I didn't want the drawers that dark for this piece.  I then sealed with 3 coats of poly. I positioned the label holders over the holes so the label would cover it up.  Even though the filler says it's stainable it was also noticeable. I'm glad I was able to cover them up.

I just love these library pulls. The card catalog look has gotten popular in the last 6 months and I couldn't resist jumping on the wagon! 

I like the simplicity, but the added shine, of these beaded edged knobs. I think they compliment this piece well. 

Roxanne has the cutest things in her store!  I never walk out without a little something extra for myself. ;)  I seriously am so excited for spring and this sweet little plant was just what I needed. 

This piece will be available at The Rustic Shed next week!  If you are local stop by and tell Roxanne hello!!