I’ve already mentioned a couple times before that I’ve been on a kick to try new things furniture-refinishing-wise. So, when I spotted this dresser at the thrift store (getting lucky is startin to be my thang), I knew I could make it pretty again. The finish was a hideous yellowish-birch finish. It was very lacquer-y (you like the words I make up, I know) with all kinds of cracks and chips in the lacquer, and a missing pull (wah!) BUT with awesome solid drawer insides and dovetails. Sometimes I really just love the clean lines of those mid-century pieces (although this looks as though it was from the 70s).
I used all kinds of wood filler (really just one kind, but lots of it) for all the chips in the lacquer and to fill some holes. One of the legs seemed a little loose, so I lay the beast (it is heavy!) on it’s back and glued the joint and used a clamp to bring it back to where it needed to be. Before I removed the clamp I put a couple screws in at an angle to prevent the leg from loosening from the joint again.
The drawer bottoms were super thick, so I sanded away all the stains on the inside (much easier than trying to replace them or paint them! Then I got to painting the outside (the fun part)! I painted the entire thing in Old White.
Then, I measured the length of the drawer fronts and divided it by 9 (the number of white and blue stripes I wanted). Each stripe was about 3.5″ wide, so I made the marks, and taped it off to paint the blue stripes. The stripes area 1:1 ratio of Old White and Duck Egg. You know how light Duck Egg looks when it is wet? That is the color when this is dried and clear waxed. Such a lovely shade of blue-green! It only took one coat!
For the top two drawers, I drilled new holes and used a couple cute pulls I found at Hobby Lobby.
I sanded the entire thing down with a 220 grit sanding sponge and then used 220 grit sand PAPER lightly on the edges. For some reason the sponge ends up being a finer grit than the paper.
For the vignette, I thought bottles of varying heights would be pretty and the color would coordinate with the blue-green stripes. Simple, but different.
I sold several of my mason jar collection at Vintage Market Days, but these ones I hung on to. I love the ones with wire top-clamp things (someone out there, tell me their real name!).
Such a pretty, classic design that is fairly gender-neutral if you ask me!
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Hi Rachel, your dresser is so pretty – love the blue stripes and the distressing. I found your dresser over at The Inspiration Exchange party!
Marie@InteriorFrugalista
This is so pretty! I love the stripes! I collect jars too! I don’t think I could part with any! Love them!
Love the dresser, Rachel! The stripes are perfect! Gives it a fun, beachy look! 🙂
This is so pretty! The stripes really make it so interesting, and it’s a great color combo!
Very appealing make-over–wonderful colors, especially in stripes. Also, the mystery canning jar top is called a wire bale.
Gorgeous! I’m working on a piece similar to this write now and so tempted to stripe it!
Beautiful transformation! Love the stripes and the cool coastal cottage color. I would love to invite you to share this at Modern Cottage Monday at Curate | by Carrie Corson:). http://www.curatebycarriecorson.com/