French Provincial Dresser Named Penny

New Moon Vintage
by New Moon Vintage
7 Materials
$100
1 Week
Medium
My first piece of furniture that I refinished started back when I did a vanity for my sister and from then on I was hooked on refinishing furniture. The first piece of furniture that i bought was a French Provinicial from the 60's. This dresser needed desperate help to make her pretty again and so I started the process of doing that. I had seen several dressers with a black and copper finish that I wanted to duplicate and that is how she got her name.
This is how my piece came out after staging and it's ready to go!! Love the way it came out.


She was in need of a little TLC as you can see in the photo. The paint was peeling on almost the entire dresser. First thing I did was strip the paint using Citristrip. I applied several coats of the stripper until I could see the paint kinda of blending in with the stripper. At this point I waited around 30 minutes and started to remove the product. It came off almost in a liquid form which made it easier to remove. I then applied a second coat and let it sit another 30 minutes and then removed it and followed that with steel wool with mineral spirits. Your project may only need one coat of stripper.
This is what it looked like after all that prep. Down to clean bare wood.
After I got to bare wood I painted a primer over the drawer fronts and let dry. Then I applied two coats of Amy Howards black chalk paint and let it dry.
Once dried I started applying General Finishes Pearlized Copper Effects paint with damp cheesecloth and just wiped it on so I could make sure and get in all the little crevices. You can see by the picture it does not totally cover over the black paint. You can also just paint with a brush but I like the control I have with wiping on the paint. I let it dry overnight.
I applied a second coat of the copper paint. This time I used a brush. Once again letting it dry overnight. Don't be to much in a hurry with this process. Your patience will be a virtue. Once dry it is now time to make the copper look more aged. I applied with a wet cheesecloth paint courture glaze. And then with a chippy brush I brush the surface to remove some of the glaze. Do it like you like it. As I like to say You do You!!
After all that work you get a beautiful piece.
Did this to the inside of the drawers to give it a little surprise when you open the drawers.
If you like painting the back of your dressers or have to replace parts of the back you can still save the stamps on the back by framing them and painting around them. This gives the owners or yourself a memory of where the piece came from.
Suggested materials:
  • Citrus Remover
  • Sand paper
  • Zinseer 123 Primer
See all materials
Frequently asked questions
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  2 questions
  • Leesa Osborne Leesa Osborne on Apr 20, 2018

    Omg I love it. I need to try that paint!!! It’s beautiful!!! Great job was this the pint size can? How much paint did it take?

  • Leesa Osborne Leesa Osborne on May 18, 2018

    Ok so I did order my paint I purchased the champagne pearl. It’s beautiful paint. Now did you have to put a poly down before painting. I tried mine on an old table and it’s extremely light. I read on the can it might have to have a sealed surface first. How did you start off?

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