Two Different 'Looks' - One Dresser
by
Denise Hardy
7 Materials
$40
2 Days
Medium
This old Dresser has been re-purposed (twice) so you don't always have to keep the same look on a piece of furniture. If your like me I am always changing it with different colours/techniques etc. It is only paint so you can have different looks when you fancy a change. I have had this dresser for years and because it is so old, at the time I didn't think about taking any 'before' photos of how it was. It started off in that sort of 'yellowy pine' where it had been over varnished instead of probably using a 'bri-wax' which feeds the wood!
So.... today I am going to give you two techniques to use. These first pictures are of when I first took it from pine to my own 'French Antique Style', which is a technique I still use and like, but a change is as good as a rest - don't you think?
The picture was taken when I lived in Ireland
This is in my own 'French Antique Style' before the 2nd update. Sorry I haven't many photos of this. To re-create this style (starting from Pine) I used 2 coats of White Primer - Zinsser BIN or Zinsser Bulls Eye 123. I then used Dulux Eggshell Paint in Magnolia which is a pale cream.
Wait until the Primer and the Eggshell is fully dry - I always wait overnight and once the primer is dry i.e. I leave it overnight and again once you have your Eggshell on, leave that overnight too. You can either put one or two coats of Eggshell, whatever you prefer.
This also was taken in my home in Ireland
Once the primer and Eggshell are dried you need to get some clean rags and some 'Bri-wax' which is something similar to Annie Sloan's Dark Wax - I like the 'Bri-wax' - the colour is 'Antique Pine' - I find that this goes on like butter - it is more supple to work with. Placing your cloth in the wax (don't go too mad and put too much wax on your cloth) little by little and then you can build it up to how you like it. Always rub your wax the same way as the grain of the wood. Once you have it how you like it, then all you need to do is get a nice clean cloth and buff your furniture - you will get a nice sheen on it and you don't have to use any varnish or anything else for that matter as the Eggshell will protect your furniture plus the wax - it will last for years. To clean this - you only need a very very slight damp cloth or even just a dry one.
The knobs were also changed out as the originals were wooden - which I used some ceramic knobs instead. The picture above is in our villa in Spain on our Top Balcony - but in the next few pictures you will see how I changed the Balcony and the Dresser to something different again. So... your getting 'two looks' for one 
You will see above that I changed the Dresser colour and used ASP in Emperor's Silk - love the colour, but I know it's not everyone's taste. You can also see I painted the walls in white instead of the terracotta to make it look a lot lighter and brighter . I also re-upholstered the sofa and chairs.
My technique for this was to sand off the wax and clean it thoroughly. Then I applied 2 coats of ASP in Emperor Red - left it overnight and the next day I gave it just a very very slight sanding with a 'sanding sponge' and then mixed a black glaze. To mix the glaze I used 'Clear Glaze' and some Artist's Acrylic Black paint - you will need approx. 2/3 inches of the glaze in a small plastic cup and about a teaspoon of the black artist's acrylic and just mix it very well. I used a normal cheap paint brush to put this on - going along the normal grain of the wood.
Then, to 'finish it off' - it needed a bit of 'jewellry' - some new glass knobs
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2 of 19 comments
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Definite eye candy!!
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Glad you like it Julia Sipe Bentley
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Are those new glass knobs heart shaped? So pretty!
This will stand up to being out side in winter . Like snow & rain ?
This will stand up to being out side in winter . Like snow & rain ?