Vintage Oak Dresser

I picked up this cute little oak dresser several years ago.  I removed the top two drawers, added a shelf and had been using it for my tv stand.  UNTIL, I kept the gorgeous vanity I refinished a few weeks ago.  I can't tell you how happy I am I kept it, but it meant this little gal needed a new makeover and a new home! 

Thankfully I never re-purposed the drawers ;) and I kept the support that goes between them.  So, I simple removed the shelf, added the support back in, and replaced the drawers.  I also had to replace the top as it had warped.  My hubby simply used the old top as a template and cut a new one out of a piece of pine. 

I loved this little dresser in white, but I thought it was time to do something fun with it. Of course, you already know I am in love with almost every shade of turquoise out there so I mixed up a custom color, which looked gorgeous in the can, but when I put it on the dresser it just looked anemic.  I let it sit for a day to give myself time to evaluate and hated it just as much the next day.  SO, I went back to the kitchen and mixed up a different, more vibrant color and tried that one out for size.  This dresser has been 5 colors in the past 3 years (3 shades of white and 2 shades of blue).

BEFORE

Like I said, I liked it in white, just wanted to do something different with it.

 AFTER

It's a simple, little dresser so I kept the design simple: All one color, all the same knobs (that's unusual for me!).

 I like how the rusty centers of the knobs pull down the dark from the top. 

 It's pine so it's not perfect, but I like it dark and I love the knots and grooves in it. 

 It doesn't have a lot of detail, but I love the simple side panels and the cute skirt. 

 I distressed it enough to bring out it's previous colors. :)

Vintage Cedar Chest in Tiffany Blue

A few posts ago I told you about a couple that was cleaning out a relative's house and had invited me to come over.  I was able to take a tour to see all of their amazing treasures.  When we got up to the attic is was full of things and we did a little poking around.  I happened to see the corner of this cedar chest peeking out of the corner off the back wall.  I said, "What is that?"  They said, "I don't know.  Let's take a look."  He uncovered part of it and it was all I needed to see.  I told him I would take it when he dug it out. :)  Fast forward a few days and I get a message saying she would like to keep the cedar chest, but would like me to redo it for her.  Yea!  I love that. 

She said she didn't know exactly what she wanted but she did want Tiffany Blue. I don't work with really bright colors a lot, so I was happy to oblige! 

This seriously is the sweetest little chest.  It's very petite and has the prettiest feet on it.  

 BEFORE

 AFTER

 Because this color is very bright and the chest is very small I wanted to leave the top wood to contrast the paint (and to give the eye a place to rest).  It is a beautiful piece of mahogany and refinished nicely.  I love the deep tone of the wood with the paint. 

 I tried gold in the groove and didn't like it, so opted to just sand the edges of it instead.  I like the simplicity of it. 

 See? Cute feet!

The key hole cover was missing so I replaced it with one I had in my stash.  I like the detail it adds. I didn't want to create holes where there weren't any (in case they want to strip this down someday) so I adhered it with Modge Podge.  Love that stuff!

Vintage Lane Cedar Chest

Someone tagged this Lane cedar chest on FB for me.  Now, if I'm being honest with you, I don't really like mid century or 70's furniture.  I don't really get into the clean lines and I absolutely do not like the original hardware on almost any of these kinds of pieces.  With that being said, when I saw this piece I knew it was a one-of-a-kind and it was in mint condition.  Perfect candidate for a make-over.  

I think I've already mentioned, a few times, that I am usually mindful of the feel of a piece before I decide what to do with it.  There is no changing the fact that this piece of furniture is what it is and came from the 70's (the original tags are still inside).  BUT, I know it is possible to meld vintage with modern to come up with something I think is workable with what people are looking for today.  I also love Reeves', from The Weathered Door, style and she has helped me look at this style of furniture in a different way.  So, I came up with a plan to do something that I thought was fitting for this piece but still was "me".  

 BEFORE

 AFTER

The color is Thermal Springs from SW with dark wax.  I love how it is an updated color but still has a little bit of vintage vibe.  I also wanted to do something a little different with the bottom drawer.   I didn't want to do it in dark wood because I didn't want it to look too heavy.   I opted to do stripes but stayed within a shade on the color card so they weren't too over bearing and slanted them to mimic inlays in many of these pieces. 

 You know hardware can instantly update a piece and that's why I have a stash of these cup pulls. I actually wanted to do them in library style, but could only find one. Boo!  It's ok, because I never get tired of these. :)

 Waxing leaves such a soft sheen and I love that. 

 The top was cherry so I sanded it down, gave it one coat of Jave Gel, and 3 coats of Varathane. 

 The drawer still had the original green felt and it was pretty worn, so I lined it with this leftover fabric I had.  Yep, still am gaga over it. :)

Vintage Dresser in Peacock Plume

I picked this cutie up from a garage sell yesterday.  I loved the shape of it and the fact that it was so petite!  It's just plain cute and that's why I like it. ;)

I will tell you right now, it may look like tiger oak (which is just quarter sawn oak, btw), but it is not tiger oak.  It has a fake finish on it to make it look like tiger oak and it was hideous to behold.  I mean N.O.T.  G.O.O.D.  Even hubby said, "What is that on there?"  So, I had no issue with covering that baby with paint! 

BEFORE

 AFTER

The color is Peacock Plume from SW.  It's a beautiful medium blue green (although you can't see much of the green it it from these pics, that always makes me sad).

This was a pretty straight forward redo.  No primer or sealer, 2 coats of paint, and wax. 

 She's got these adorable side panels. 

 A beautiful wood top,

 pretty new knobs, 

and, a cute flower detail on the mirror. 

Simple

And, I love it. 

Antique Washstand

Sorry, I don't have a before of this wash stand (apparently I was in a hurry!).   It had already been refinished in a dark stain and is in great condition.  I didn't want to tell the people I bought it from that I was painting it because I know how much work it is to refinish something!  Shhh...don't tell!

I have mass amounts some paint hanging out in my basement, so I thought I would experiment and mix my own color.  It has about 4 different colors in it from four different brands. :)  It's a little brighter than I normally do and it took a minute for it to grow on me, but now I love it.  

 AFTER

 It is very sweet. ;)

 I originally left the original pulls (I don't believe they were the actual originals but they were the pulls that were on it when I bought it) on it, but when I finished up and stood back to look at it I hated them!  They were very decorative and there was just too much going on on the drawers.  So, I had to remove them, fill in the holes, and repaint the drawers.  A fairly quick redo turned into a big ol pain in the you know what! 

I've said many times before how I love that a cup pull can instantly update a piece.  I love that it still feels vintagy with the color, shape, and details, but has a modern element with the pulls. 

 I actually didn't sand this top down to the bare wood, which is the first time I've ever not done that!  I simply took the old finish off by hand and then stained it with a coat of Java Gel.  I could get away with it because the top was in nice condition to begin with as it had been refinished once before.

 I painted the insides of the drawers with a pretty butter yellow and love how it just adds a little bit of fun when you open them up! 

I love the back piece on this stand too!  I wet distressed this piece so I didn't take off the dark finish under the paint. 

Antique Serpentine Dresser

I found this awesome serpentine dresser in the warehouse at my local Habitat for Humanity store.  I was actually there to pick up a different piece and he said he had something else he wanted to show me. Of course, I couldn't pass up all those curvey drawers!  

The finish was extremely rough and all the original pulls were missing, but the piece was in such great shape and all the drawers worked really well. 

I already had a color in mind when I picked it up and ended up mixing Refreshing and a little bit of Vintage from Americana Decor.  It's actually a super matte acrylic paint so it acts like chalk paint which I absolutely love.  It's really thick so I just added a litte water until I got the consistency I wanted.  I really liked working with it and would definitely buy again. 

BEFORE

Top Before

Wowzas!  It's definitely been used and abused!!  I think someone had tried to add laquer over the existing finish and it just ended up being a huge mess.  My hubby took it to the shop for me because it needed more help than I could give it with my orbital.  By the time I got there he had already stripped it for me and sanded it down.  How sweet is that?!  Yep, I've said it before and I will say it again....he's AMAZING! :))

AFTER

So much better!! 

And, I just have to show you the top right away because it turned out beautifully!  After sanding it all down I simply gave it one coat of Jave Gel from General Finishes and 4 coats of General Finishes High Performance Top Coat in Flat. Look at how the grain pops!  You would have never known that was under that old, ugly finish. 

Not only does she have a cute, curvy front, but look at these side panels!  Love them!!  The finish on the body of the dresser wasn't too bad, so I just scuff sanded, painted, and distressed.  I love how all the old alligator skin shows through on the sides now.  

The drawer fronts did get sanded down to the bare wood.  They have oak veneer on them so the grain is very open.  Normally I don't like how that looks, but on this piece it's very fitting.  I do believe it has to be almost 100 years old. I also like how the paint crackled over the old finish in places.  It gives it a very authentic feel. 

I love this hardware with this color.  I wanted to go with all glass knobs, but sometimes they just get lost and I think the hardware should stand out.  So, these are the best of both worlds.  I get the glass, but also the definition with the anitque brass beading on the edge.  And, these small antique brass flowers on the top drawers just make the peice. 

I also gave the original keyholes (so glad it still had them!) a coat of ORB.

So pretty!

I couldn't pass up the opportunity to add some fun fabric to the drawers!  Love this big, bold pattern!