Antique Credenza Makeover

I purchased this credenza on Craigslist because I loved the shape of it, but the veneer on the drawers was badly damaged. I planned to remove it and re-veneer the drawers, and then refinish the entire piece. But after many hours of scraping veneer off of the drawers, I uncovered this amazing striped wood. I loved how it looked, so I decided to just sand it, give it a few coats of clear polyurethane, and make those striped drawers the star of the piece.
Antique credenza with damaged veneer removed, and a new coat of paint.
The credenza as I purchased it, with badly peeling, cracked, and bubbling veneer on the drawers. A previous owner had even tried to reattach the veneer with super glue in places, and it was a big mess.
Because the credenza is so dark, it's hard to see in photos how damaged the veneer was, but this is what it looked like after I removed everything that was flaking and peeling off. This took just a matter of minutes.
To remove the rest, I used the wet towel method of veneer removal. I scored the veneer with a razor blade, and placed a hot wet towel on top for several hours. Then used a scraper to remove the veneer.
Kristi @ Addicted 2 Decorating
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Go
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
Comments
Join the conversation
2 of 160 comments
Next