Chifforobe Refinished
4 Materials
I came across a chifforobe at a garage sale, I had refinished and sold one a couple years ago and always wished I would have kept it. This one is even larger and needed just a little love and work.
Let me first address the anti painting crowd. Pieces like this are not made of "good wood", it is a thin pine that dents and scratches easy. Chifforobes or wardrobes of this time era are often very light weight, made well but much cheaper than a good quality gentleman's dresser. I washed her, fixed a few loose nails, gave a light sanding to the drawers and removed the broken mirror insert.
I painted with Annie Sloan Old White, distressed to my liking and stained the drawers in General Finishes Java gel.
The mirror that had broken was backed by panel so I covered that in old newspaper using Mod podge, then cut out the main design of a poster from Hobby Lobby. The poster was also glued with Mod Podge. Then entire piece was then sealed in General Finishes high performance top coat.
I think she is stunning....so I kept her!!
This was the previous Chifforobe, similar techniques but layered colors and dry brushing, sealed in wax rather than poly, and you can see the poster was left whole. The sky is the limit with a great pieces like these.
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This has given me the incentive to tackle the 60-year-old chifforobe I have. Mine has only one mirror and I don't want to replace it, so the poster works! Thanks, and it looks beautiful!
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I have a very similar chifforobe that I have had for 20 years. I kept it because I was trying to figure out what to do with it. Your post was inspiring. I did not want to get rid of it.
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