Asked on Aug 16, 2013
Vintage Maple Dresser: Should we have went with black?
+158
My partner and I bought this lovely dresser which was covered with a very bad white shiny paint job. He stripped and sanded to bare wood and then painted with a urethane enforced white satin paint. The top, side panels and drawers were stained with a custom tint and then hand-rubbed to a satin finish with oil. Vintage style antique brass pulls were added and she has turned into a french country beauty. One question: Would you have used black instead of white? I thought black would have been dramatic and maybe appeal to more people.
The finished dresser!
The before pic
I love to paint vintage pieces and think the white is beautiful and shows off the natural wood. I also think a mat black would be nice. Just prefer the clean look of the white. Great job.
Black would have been my choice. If the drawer pulls are brass, you can clean them in boiling hot vinegar. Works great.
White sells better than black.
Rules
Never ask people if they like your stuff. You will get a zillion answers it is almost depressing. if you put it up for sell and no one buys it then you know it's not appealing l.
The door pulls of it any antique or vintage I kind of leave them the way they are more apealing they are aged like the piece. But if they are great pieces and you want to clean them boiling water or a scrub bush and not water. Me I like the old look i love the fact they have aged to perfection and leave them. If they are really ugly and not wome with great hardware I replace it.
Make everything match simple black lacquer wood trick..spray paint w back gloss a few coats works but between coats use regular car wax it fills in any holes and cracks wout sanding and buffs to beautiful shine wout polish. Should work same on any color. easy cheap fast effective way to clean up any awful paint.
no resistace did my waterbed and old headboard i had found in the alley. Gloss of course because the wax shines. Dont be fooled the spray paint from dollar tree works as well as expensive brabd Learned this technique from auto body work worjs great to acheive pearl white finishes just remeber that primer undercoat color dictates the shades outcome
Love it very glad you did not paint it black
I would maybe wipe a ligh stain over the white to blend with the wood. Nothing heavy just light touch. Make it look less stark. Don't go black.
I like the white but would have LOVED the black
No it’s beautiful
Nice job.
I would have used a black walnut stain instead of painting it white... then a coat of poly.. but since you already painted it white, if it were my piece I would paint the white black. I feel like the colors are fighting with each other... Just my opinion for what it is worth!
Prefer refinished to its original.
While I like white painted furniture, I prefer more of an antiqued white so it isn’t too bright and to me, it looks richer and less “kitchen-y” if you know what I mean. I also like to see a piece of furniture done in all one color. You’ve done a nice job but since you are asking, I would prefer to see less of a contrast and the white changed to blend in with the rest of the piece. I also like the hardware exactly as it is ... as it suits the chest of drawers. Hardware in too bright of a color, or shine, would look “off”. I also can envision this chest painted in a rich, darkish historical green or blue with an antiqued finish applied over the final coat. As long as you are happy, that’s all that matters!
I think it is beautiful as it is. Black would make it look too dark.
Should have left the natural color.
Try all White, I mean a white, white.
Yes, black
I would still to match the brown.