About a year ago I entered the Asheville Habitat For Humanity Restore Reuse contest.
This was my entry:
I fished an old spool bed out of someone’s trash and Big Daddy and I made a bench out of it. You can read more about that here:
http://ajunkchicklife.blogspot.com/2015/05/milk-paint.html?m=1
And we won the furniture catagory! Nobody was more shocked than me. The prize was a $250 gift certificate to the Restore. Now, you might have expected me to just go buck wild with that $250. And I thought I would too. Well, believe it or not, I’ve held on to that gift certificate this entire time.
At first I wanted to spend it on something I could keep, furniture wise. Something I really loved, but would never spend that kinda money on myself. In my crazy little brain nothing I’d seen on my lunch hour visits to the Restore was really worth cashing in that prize. Then one day recently, again on my lunch hour, I stuck my head in and spotted this:
Except all of the drawers were in it. Two of them were stuck in place and I had to beat them out from above and below with a hammer.
All I was left with was a box.
The only drawer I was able to salvage was the top one. It was in perfect shape.
I began this project by sanding off the top which the previous owner had painted brown.
The veneer was loose in several spots so I glued that all back down and weighted it with canned tomatoes until it was good and dry.
The top of the dresser I refinished with dark wax only.
I love the color of the wax on the raw mahogany. Plus you can’t beat soap and water cleanup. Well soap, water and Greased Lightning.
With two of this dresser’s drawers beyond repair I was in a predicament about replacing them. If not for two things I could have just used the bottoms of the those drawers to make shelves. Alas, I’d done a number on them with a hammer plus they were warped to begin with. So while I was waiting on the dresser top to dry I made a trip to lowes and found a more than suitable replacement.
I’ve been in a Duck Egg state of mind lately so it’s no surprise that’s the color I chose for this dresser.
I chose pieces of pine that I found at Lowes to floor the drawer spaces. Finished with the dark wax they make for nice looking open shelving. On the pine the dark wax looks like barn wood. Quite different from the mahogany. I’ll address the particulars on the shelf boards later in the week.
I can promise you I’ll be looking at junky dressers with a fresh perspective going forward!
And I’ll be on the lookout for one to go in my kitchen.
Paige
Blogs I love!
http://www.stonegableblog.com
http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/?m=1
http://theessenceofhome.blogspot.com/?m=1
http://www.frenchcountrycottage.net/?m=1
http://thechelseaproject.com
http://www.funkyjunkinteriors.net
http://www.findingsilverpennies.com
http://www.thededicatedhouse.com
http://www.thepainteddrawer.com
http://www.confessionsofaserialdiyer.com
You're a GENIUS! Love the project!
just amazed – look forward to your blog!!!
It looks so good and I love the color. Tell me it didn't cost $250?
Lord no! But let's hope it sells for that 🙂
Love the Duck Egg with the Mahoghany! It turned out beautiful & a keeper!
I love what you did with the chest. It is gorgeous. I love the duck egg color. You make me want to find a chest and do the same thing. Thanks so much for sharing and congratulations on winning the contest.
IT'S DARLING WITHOUT THE DRAWERS. WHAT A GREAT FIND AND A GREAT TRANSFORMATION. I FOUND YOU THROUGH SAVVY SOUTHERN STYLE.
KATIE
LET'S ADD SPRINKLES
You did a beautiful job! Love the color especially.
Paige,
I love the transformation that this dresser made by your hands, dear one!
You meet challenges head on, or hammer~in`hand, I should say!
Duck Egg Blue makes a subtle contrast with the dark pine shelving!
Great choices!
Fondly,
Pat
Oh Paige! Congrats on your big win at the Restore! And what a treat to find such a lovely piece for your own house. This amazing makeover has put me in a Duck Egg state of mind, too. I just totally love the color combined with the wood tone. Thanks so much for sharing this sweet piece with us at Friday's Furniture Fix. Susie from The Chelsea Project
Such a great rescue! I love the combination of the blue with the dark wood. Thanks for sharing!
How can I find out about the wood used forthe shelves in the drawer space?
In my Lowes it's on the finish grade lumber aisle in the section of table tops. There are two sizes and when you pull out the boards they look like butcher block: lots of small pieces glued together to make the board.
How did you go about attaching the shelves? I'm think "L" brackets underneath would work?
I have a dresser that I want to do this exact same thing with and I need to know how to attach the shelves, also! Any tips?
Xoxo, Kayt
You can screw the shelves in from above or below. They sit in a frame of the wood that held the drawers. Hope this helps!
Just joined your site, and I am very impressed with what I see. Great translation of the chest. Love the color to.
How beautiful! I love it! I'm planning to try something like this for an island for my kitchen. I'd like to extend the back of the top out so I can use bar stools on that side of it.
Tania
Love how this turned out!! What dark wax did you use for the top?
I have a piece very similar and it would look great the way you refinished this!!
Hi Sabrina! It's Annie Sloan dark wax.
Both pieces are magnificent!