A Dressing Table Given a Fresh Start

Cynthia H
by Cynthia H
A "new" dressing table for my granddaughter.
Sad finish
It was a sad little dressing table that had seen better days.
This took a lot of time, sanding, etc.
I wanted to keep the wood on top, but, wasn't sure how years of abuse would come off. Although it looked better after scrubbing it.
The original finish.
A little girl's dressing table
My granddaughter's "new" dressing table.
The top took hours of sanding, before applying stain and sealer.
I took the old, shredded upholstery off (sorry, no picture from before), padded the seat with quilt batting and then used my staple gun to attach the new fabric to the seat. Then reattached the seat to the base after I painted the base/legs with chalk paint that I mixed from a deeper pink and white, to get the color I wanted. Although you don't have to sand first, before chalk paint, I did, to get a smoother surface.
The mirror and spindles were painted with my "custom" mix of pink and white chalk paint.
I attached this cameo to the wood with glue after painting.
I replaced the old metal pull with pink depression glass. The other handle was a little narrower so I had to fill the old holes, sand, paint and then drill new holes. It isn't crooked, but the angle of the picture makes it look like it is!
So there you have it - makeover of an old dressing table I already had, two jars of chalk paint and sealer from Walmart, stain and sealer I already had for the top, padding and fabric I had in my fabric stash, tools I already had for the work. The cameo was purchased on Etsy for about $2 or less (I bought several in different shades of pink and purple while planning it, but none were over $2), the handle on Ebay in pink depression glass. My four year old granddaughter also loves the inexpensive picture frames I did with leftover chalk paint, cameos, and family pictures. The "doily" is actually a pretty dishtowel I found for under $2, and the rest of the items are her additions. I painted her whole name inside the drawer and she calls it her "secret" drawer because it has a surprise secret in it.
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  • Shirley Kalinosky Shirley Kalinosky on Jul 11, 2015
    Beautiful! Even my 20 yr old grand daughter would love this. It's ageless.
    • Cynthia H Cynthia H on Jul 11, 2015
      @Shirley Kalinosky Thanks! I hope she will use it for many years to come! I thought of her as I worked on it, trying to get it "just right", and I hope she feels all that love.
  • Cynthia H Cynthia H on Jul 11, 2015
    Thank you for all the lovely comments! She really loves it, and told me her friends who came over to play dress-up liked it too! I'm hoping it's something she will use for years to come!
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