Vintage Empire Dresser Makeover

Hello there friends!

A couple of weekends ago, my son and I decided to hit up a few local estate sales. I can’t even begin to tell you how happy it makes me that he enjoys doing that with me.  It was a Sunday, and the final hours of the sales, so most things were pretty picked over. At the second sale we visited, I spotted a gorgeous empire dresser all alone in one of the bedrooms.  I couldn’t believe no one else had grabbed it up.   Maybe because the original asking price was $195?  Since it was the last day of the sale, everything was half off.  Still, half of $195 is more than I would usually pay for a piece, but I couldn’t resist this gorgeous empire dresser.  It is exactly like this empire dresser I refinished last summer.  I mean almost identical.  For this dresser, I decided to go with a classic black and wood look.

I stripped the drawers and the top with Citristrip.  I let them dry for a day, and then sanded and stained them with General Finishes antique walnut gel stain.   I originally planned to refinish the wood on the top as well, but there were some bad looking stains that did not come out.  I sealed the drawers with 2 coats of General Finishes High Performance topcoat in satin.

There is a small hole in the bottom right corner of middle drawer that, to me, looks like a bullet hole, but that is just a complete guess.  On the other hand, I did buy this dresser from an estate sale. . .  Totally kidding.   That hole could be from anything.  I decided to go ahead and leave it, rather than fill it, because it is part of the history of this dresser.  It adds character and interest, in my opinion.

I sanded the rest of the dresser and painted it with 3 coats of General Finishes milk paint in lamp black.  I sealed it with General Finishes High Performance topcoat in flat.  Lamp black is classic and pretty, and complements the wood tones so beautifully. It goes on smooth, and with very few brush marks.  Gotta love that!

I also added new knobs, in two coordinating styles.  I used smaller black and white knobs for the top two drawers and larger black knobs for the bottom two.

The curves on the front of empire style furniture just stops me in my tracks every time.

See that orchid?  It’s the very first orchid I have ever had rebloom.  I was thrilled beyond words.  It grew out sort of sideways, but still so pretty just the same.

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend.

Susan