Cottage Elegance Romantic Tapestry Vintage Dresser With Mirror

1 Material
Medium
This bow front mahogany vintage dresser is stately and proud and perfect for a touch of fancy. I first painted it in Barn Red by Old Fashioned Milk Paint Company which was one of the colors that was in the tapestry material I chose for the drawer fronts.
I added extra bond so that the milk paint would adhere beautifully to the existing finish, which it did.
Here you can see the tone difference between the old mahogany stain and the fresh first coat of Barn Red.
Next I slathered on Antique Crackle by OFMP and let it set for about two hours. Then I mixed up some Light Cream milk paint and coated the dresser as this was to be my dominant color with the Barn Red peeking through the crackles. I did not paint the drawer faces at all since those would be getting their own super special treatment.
I measured twenty times. Not really, but close. I had exactly enough material to cover the drawers so any mess up would be a fail for the project. Having a bow to the drawers meant a bit of angling over the curve so I allowed for half an inch extra all around to be sure of coverage. I chose a beautiful quilted floral tapestry fabric. I decoupaged it to the drawer faces using ModPodge.
I had sanded the top to bare wood and restained it a beautiful deep red brown that would also compliment the barn red and the tapestry.
I did the same paint treatment to the matching attachable mirror. I sealed the dresser case and mirror with Daddy Van's clear wax and the material with Mod Podge.
Check out the luscious crackling all over. Perfect rustic cottage charm paired with the sophisticated fabric.
I replaced the top knobs for diamond cut crystal ones and kept the original wooden ones for the rest, but also painted them.
Suggested materials:
  • Old Fashioned Milk Paint, Daddy Van's clear wax, Antique Crackle medium by OFMP, fabric, mod podge
Kara - Lilac Shack Furniture
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Go
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
  1 question
  • Sharon Sharon on Oct 28, 2016
    I absolutely love this, but I know me and I grow tired of things. Is it possible to remove the fabric later and if so,...HOW??
Comments
Join the conversation
2 of 34 comments
  • Hi, I am not really sure what you mean? Do you mean to apply wax to areas where you don't want the paint to adhere so the background color shows through? You can use vaseline, candle or any furniture wax for that technique.
  • Heather McKinney Heather McKinney on Nov 03, 2016
    What a phenomenal job you did! If you wanted, you could even "antique" the mirror with the same fabric (or other fabric that coordinates with it). It's not hard to do at all.
Next