Sunday, September 25, 2011

a project four months in the making.

 remember this dresser i scored from salvation army for $40?
it is hard to tell from this picture just how badly it needed a makeover.
those dark details are actually a very unattractive grape purple.
and the top of the dresser was actually a very depressing acrylic veneer.
i believed in the beauty of this piece of furniture.
so i got to work... then stopped and started for four months.
i removed the veneer, bought some thin craft wood and cut it into narrow strips.
getting a piece that would match the curve on the front was somewhat involved.
i painted the edge, like so:
 then pressed the wood-to-be-cut on top of it to make a stamp.
 using a dovetail saw i cut along the edge and sanded so it would be a perfect (well, sort of) fit. 
 then i fit the narrow strips across to cover the entire surface, 
making sure to stagger the pieces and vary the lengths.
 m actually helped me a little when i got frustrated with our outdated power saw, which i cannot control.  and for two months it looked like this:
 then came today, the most exciting day in this dresser's life.
i decided to change out the drawer pulls because the old ones were destroyed, so i had to fill in the holes with wood putty.
 i finally got around to staining the wooden surface,
but when the stain went on it was more of a neon orange, not an ashy gunstock as i had hoped.
but i happened to have some taupe paint sitting around, so i rubbed that on top of the stain to tone it down, and it ended up looking great!
i gave the wood a good couple of coats of polyurethane
and painted the bottom and the drawers.
(the color is a gray-ish, yellow-ish, warm neutral.  NOT white.)
 i then drilled all new holes for the pulls, which i got at hobby lobby for a grand total of $12 (for all six)
 and now she's ready for the guest bedroom!!
(although, i plan to make the inside of the drawers more fabulous as time goes on.)
 it's not easy to see the color in these pictures...
 so if you're interested in the exact hue, 
you'll just have to come be our guest for a night or two!

2 comments:

  1. LOVE the music on your page. :) good to see a fellow musical blogger! and great job with the dresser - it looks beautiful!

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