I purchased this gorgeous tall boy awhile back and started on it doing repairs then it sat while other pieces were done. I really struggled with what color to do this one knowing classic neutrals sell better fitting more homes color schemes but if I went that route should it be dark or light?
I polled my fabulous Facebook and Instagram followers and just as I thought it was pretty much split. The original finish was really reddish and after stripping and sanding the top to the raw wood I knew it would look best dark. So I did a split paint color for this one going with both black and white.
Yes this is how I bought it, previous owners had painted a few colors and her grandson started to strip and gave up.
The top was stripped, needing two coats of stripper then sanded smooth with 120 grit sandpaper. To give it a bit more detailing, I added some fabulous wood appliques from
D Lawless Hardware. They were easy to apply with wood glue and clamped till dry. The drawer fronts were sanded smooth as well as the sides.
The whole piece was given a good cleaning with
Dixie Belle's
White lightning cleaner, an easy to add cleaning powder that is added to water. It gets the deep down dirt these old pieces harbor.
To be sure that the red stain did not bleed thru I sealed the whole dresser body with
DixieBelle’s BOSS
. This is a fabulous product that blocks odors and stains and stops bleed thru and it comes in clear. This allows the wood to show thru when distressed back thru the paint color. Click here to see a video of how I applied it.
The bare wood top was refinished in Homestead House's new stain and finishing oil all in one in ebony. Three coats lightly sanded with a sanding sponge between and after each coat gave it the perfect finish. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this all in one finish. It goes on so easy and gives a beautiful durable finish.
The downside of previous painters painting style... which when similar in color to what I am painting may make me look the culprit :)
I used my favorite Cling On F40 brush and applied
Dixie Belle Paint in drop cloth, a gorgeous warm white.
Two coats covered the dresser perfectly.
The drawer stops were lost over the years on the bottom 3 drawers so I cut new ones, glued them in place and clamped and left to dry.
Now to get added dimension in the new appliques and the crevices and to add age back to the piece. I distressed the edges and sprayed
Dixie Belle’s Easy Peasy Spray Wax over all the drop cloth areas then applied
Homestead House black wax. Homestead's black wax is not a staining type but rather a soft application that blend very well and darkens with more layers if needed.
See the difference the black wax makes?
As I put the first coat of drop cloth on the wooden knobs I had sanded, I clearly saw I forgot to add the BOSS coat. Quickly I added it after paint was dry, let it dry and added another coat of paint. On the top 2 smaller drawers I swapped out the wooden knobs for antique depression glass knobs. I spray painted the inner metal screws matte black as well as the original escutcheons.
The top drawers were stained inside so vintage striped wallpaper was cut to size and added.
All the fabulous products used to create this beautiful piece of history.
*Disclosure
This post contains links for D Lawless Hardware,
Homestead House' & Dixie Belle Paint , to help you find the items I used easily. There is no monetary compensation to me , they are just added for your convenience ;)
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