Vintage Dresser in Wrought Iron Black

Hello Friends!

With the craziness of the holidays over, I am back in full painting swing.  Today I am sharing a makeover of a handsome 3 drawer vintage dresser that I picked up at the Goodwill. This guy was in great structural shape, but needed some cosmetic updating.

Here is the before.

This piece originally had a mirror, which was no longer with it.  One of the arms (is that what they are called?) that holds the mirror was broken off and the other was still attached to the dresser.  I generally prefer to remove the mirror anyway, so I was fine with that.  I cut down the “arms” so that they now just hold the backsplash in place, but aren’t sticking up.

Here is the after.

The wood on the drawers looked like it could be really beautiful, so I decided to go with a two tone look for this piece.  I used Citristrip to strip the drawers, let them dry for a day and then sanded.  I applied one coat of General Finishes java gel stain and then sealed with General Finishes High Performance Topcoat in satin.  The wood grain really is amazing.

I sanded the body and then applied a custom mix of General Finishes milk paint in Lamp Black and Queenstown Gray.  I was going for an off black color that would bring out the darker tones in the wood.  I applied two coats of paint and then sealed it with General Finishes HPTC in flat.

I picked up the antique portrait at the Goodwill this morning.  It’s one of those where the person’s eyes appear to follow you around the room.  See what I mean?  She’s looking right at you.  We had a painting like that in our home when I was a kid and it used to totally creep me out!  The sticker on the back says it is from Pelayo Antiques, which Seattle people may know.  I used to love to browse around that store, but it has been gone for quite some time.

I absolutely love the original hardware on this piece.  It is such a bonus to find a piece with gorgeous original hardware that is all still intact.  In my experience, it is near impossible to find replacements for unique original hardware like this.

The original brass finish was mostly worn off.  After a good scrubbing, I applied a light coat of Rub n Buff in antique gold to bring it back to life.  I left the recessed areas dark to add some dimension.

This photo of the top really shows the color on this piece.  It is a dark gray to off black much like wrought iron or a chalk board.

I hope your New Year is off to a good start!  Thanks for stopping by today.

Susan

Linking with A Burst of Beautiful, The Painted Drawer and McCall Manor