Roadside Find Makeover

Joannef2006
by Joannef2006
3 Materials
$50.
10 Hours
Medium

I love a good makeover. It’s sort of a passion. A few months ago I found this old maple dresser by the side of the road. It needed some TLC. It had scratches and it was missing one of it’s hard to find 4 1/2” pulls. I finally got to it today. A little rust oleum spray paint for the pulls. Four new knobs and a little clever rearranging for balance. I sanded the top and added a light stain and wax finish. I was careful not to take out the nicks and scratches but instead to soften them and add an acrylic stain to add to the character of the piece and to pay homage to the years of service it gave to the family who were the original owners of the piece.

As you can see the finish was worn with some interesting looking scratches and marks.

I chose a pale Tiffany blue chalk paint which didn’t call for a primer coat but I did sand the piece first with a fine grain paper to even out the scratches and give the paint something to cling to. I was careful not to sand the scratches completely away because I love the look and character of distressed wood. I made an wash with brown acrylic paint in a tube and water and after cleaning the wood with Murphy’s and allowing it to dry I washed the top and the drawers before polishing with a bees waxed based furniture wax.

The top shows the effect I was going for.

The pulls were pitted and badly discolored and I was missing one of the hard to find 4 1/2” pulls so I purchased four knobs and decided to place them in the center of the piece for symmetry. I sprayed the original pulls with a soft pewter metallic spray paint for metal and as you can see pairs beautifully with the center knobs.

A better view of the hardware. I also outlined the grooves in the drawers with a pen for covering scratches in furniture. It gave the piece depth and softened the look a bit.

Fiona gave the piece her stamp of approval. I’m still thinking about rubbing a soft stain over the chalk paint to shadow the groves on the rest of the piece and soften the color a bit....

I decided to use a soft antiquing wax rub to finish this piece. I think it softened the color. It just needs a buffing when it’s cured in a day or two. Done. I love it.

I went with a non flammable no fume water based wax. Deco Art American Decor Creme Wax.

Super easy....in two days I will buff the wax.

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  • Heje Heje on Jan 22, 2020

    Did you use Sharpie permanent marker pen to do the details on the front? I like that look.

  • Carolyn Carolyn on Jan 22, 2021

    Wouldn't whoever tossed that be surprised?? Excellent job! Beautiful.

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