Dressed Up Dresser, an Unlikely Pair
by
Gary Hardman
(IC: homeowner)
8 Materials
$25
4 Days
Medium
So it’s trash day and I see this large painting along the side of the road. I do an Immediate bat turn and stuff it in my car. My idea was to combine the painting with an Art Deco dresser someone gave me. Not a fun dresser. The drawers were stuck, it’s foot was loose and two of the tracks were missing. But.... free is good.
The first step was to clean and repair. I cleaned inside and out with windex. The foot was easy to repair by just replacing old bent screws with new ones. I replaced the two drawer tracks that were missing which proved a little more challenging.
Second step. I sanded the chest using an orbital sander. There were a lot of scrapes but they eventually came out. Be careful if there is veneer that you just sand the surface and dont sand too deep.
Step three. For the top I wanted a darker contrasting color, so I stained it with Min Wax Expresso. Two coats of tung oil gave me the desired satin finish. The paint was someone’s reject quart for $5.00. It said gray on the top. It was a gray green which is now my favorite color.
Step four. This step I measutred and cut the painting to fit the front of the drawers. Don’t worry this was not a masterpiece. I bought Elmer’s spray glue and treated each piece like wall paper. I made sure each piece was covered throughly with glue on the back and applied it to the drawers. I started from one corner rolling the painting on with my hand to make sure it had no bubbles. You have maybe a minute before the glue hardens so you are on a bit of a time crunch. You can reposition but not too many times.
Step five. For this step I put two coats of Satin Decoupage over the paint to protect it.
The final step I thought about replacing the handles with something newer. Since these have been on this dresser since the 1930’s It would be like breaking up a family. So I cleaned and polished the handles with brillo pads and put them back on.
This was a fun challenge that gave a beautiful result. This unlikely pair have now started a true Art Deco Revival.
Enjoyed the project?
Resources for this project:
See all materials
Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
Hometalk may collect a small share of sales from the links on this page.More info
Published March 22nd, 2018 3:50 AM
Comments
Join the conversation
3 of 841 comments
-
Donna on May 18, 2024
I have admired and commented on this post every time I’ve seen it, I LOVE everything about it, it just speaks to me.
Have you found a color, that you can recommend that is similar to what you used?
I would love to know.
Be Well,
Donna
-
Gary Hardman on May 21, 2024
Thank you Donna, very kind. I buy most of my paint in the mistint section at /Ace Hardware or Lowe’s. This one didn’t have a name on it. It is one of my favorites.
-
-
-
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
This is so beautiful! I am sure it is a conversation piece. Great job.
Beautiful! How do you get over feeling embarrassed that someone will see you taking something from someones trash? I see so many things and am fairly crafty but can not bring myself to stop.
Love it!
How do you deal with the edges? Are they trimmed off square or rolled over?