Happy Monday, Friends! Today I have a thrift store dresser transformation to share that puts me in mind of Hans Christian Andersen's story of the Ugly Duckling. It's always a pleasure to bring out the hidden "swan" in a cast-off piece of furniture...
Some of you may remember a previous dresser I upcycled only a few months after I started my blog. It turned out being a much bigger project than I anticipated, mainly due to unexpected repairs that needed to be made. In the long run, I was tickled with the results, and it has served me well. However, I use the drawers for storage and I had been on the lookout for something larger that I could use in the same place--along the dining room wall near my living room.
Labor Day weekend, I came across a 1965 Thomasville piece. The price was right, the drawers were sturdy, and...
...it was super long! So long, in fact, that when Favorite Son brought it over after picking it up for me, I panicked a little--was it too long?! Now, maybe it doesn't seem so ugly to you--that was my friend, Carly's reaction after seeing only the photo. I should have snapped a few close-ups of the unnatural looking color of the stain, and I would have, had I realized my "before" picture would look better in the photographs than it did in person. Trust me--Dear Daughter-in-Law echoed my sentiments when she expressed in her lovely Spanish accent, "That color is really ugly!"
Since I wasn't sure what time Favorite Son would be able to pick up my new find, I loaded up the dresser drawers in my car.
The first thing I did was remove the gorgeous hardware.
One of the reasons I use chalk paint so often is that it covers old yellowed finishes with very little prep. For this piece, I simply cleaned the surface. The insides of the drawers were surprisingly clean. By the time Favorite Son delivered the dresser, I had painted the drawers.You can see on the brush the aqua tint of the chalk paint I used. However, on the dresser, the color appears more gray. {You can find the exact paint shades plus the lovely drawer liner I used near the bottom of the post}
I am not a neat painter, so the detailed contrast I wanted took me most of the long weekend to finish!
What do you think? Never underestimate the power of paint, right?!
The same weekend, before finding the dresser, I picked up these pretty blush candles and the candlestick at Pier One--they were an additional 25% off the marked down clearance price.
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Beautiful, just beautiful! Enough room for lots of "decor" or a Thanksgiving's worth of serving dishes as a buffet. You will be styling!(As my mother aged, she cared less about pretty serving and she had a miniscule kitchen table. We called it "Lu's buffet"--we served ourselves out of the saucepans and pots on the stove!)
ReplyDeleteLove it!!!!
ReplyDeleteI love it! I inherited my great aunt's mahongany dining room set including her beautiful sideboard. even with her china cabinet, and another from her sister, I still seem to looking for storage space for linens. Yours looks like it can hold a lot of linens.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beauty. I would not have seen what you saw in it! You gave the old girl a wonderful new look on life.
ReplyDeleteWow, that is big, but you did a lovely job! Like the color too! I guess the "ugly" color before pic was the gray & white. I didn't like that either, and I'm so glad that wasn't the way you painted it. I didn't know till I looked further.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh I would kill for this dresser! I've been wanting to get rid of my foyer piece as well as my two sideboards for ages and I picture using exactly that kind of painted dresser in their place! Now just have to convince the husband to sell it all off to make room. BTW I also have the Homegrown wooden box (from Big Lots I think) and I filled mine with cotton bolls -- love it! Great job! xo kathleen
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful piece you painted. I love how you painted the dresser and the details are stunning. Great Job Cecilia.
ReplyDelete