Tuesday, September 16, 2014

VERY BAD to Gorgeous Empire Dresser


As you know I have a thing for dressers and have transformed many,  but this one was one of the worst I have seen.  When I spotted it at the Flea Market I immediately knew it had potential to be  a beauty.  Since it was in such bad shape I got it for next to nothing.
Before:

Getting ready to take off the chipped veneer

Top

Drawer


No back
When I got home with the dresser I almost took it right to the dump because it was so bad I wasn't sure I wanted to take it on.  I decided to just start and see how it went.  The top was the worst and so I started to scrape off the old chipped veneer.  Let me tell you-this is not a fun thing to do and it was not pretty.  I also stripped off the veneer on the one drawer.

No more chipped veneer
Even after I took off the veneer on the top it was ugly so I replaced the top with new wood.  I decided to mix up milk paint in MMS Kitchen Scale and got to painting.  I knew the chippiness would camouflage some of the issues and the dresser would just have character.  I sealed it with hemp oil/dark wax and stood back and was impressed with my self! I added large glass knobs from my stash and even this was not an easy thing.  I had to counter sink the nuts on the top drawers since they were super thick.  I also added wood to the back and the dresser was DONE!  







Gorgeous Tulips

New top-no chippiness, but not ugly anymore! 





New Knobs


30 comments:

  1. All that hard work paid off...it's stunning!! Love the glass knobs you added too!

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  2. thanks for stopping by revival monday , i love this piece and would love to feature it next monday, let me know if thats ok with you!

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    1. Thank you Lauren--I would love to be featured next week--I love reading your blog!

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  3. Once again you took an ugly duckling and transformed it into a beauty!! Love the color and the glass knobs.
    Mary Alice

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    1. Thank you Mary Alice- I have a thing for ugly dressers I think! I like the challenge!

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  4. So pretty! A lot of work but well worth the effort!

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    1. Thank you Suzanne-it was more of the challenge for me that appealed!

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  5. The dresser has such beautiful structure and with the new paint job it is perfection! Love it.
    XX Jo from Anne's Attic - design blog http://fulcolbaxia.wordpress.com

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    1. Thank you Jo Anne-it did have a great shape under all the ugly!

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  6. It looks perfectly lovely and chippy now! I love the color and the glass knobs!

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  7. Thank you Amanda-it was a lot of work!

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  8. Wow that really did go from trash to treasure, its absolutely beautiful! well done.

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    1. Thank you Karen-yes it was very ugly before but now I love it. It is now in the front window of a local store as their main display for fall!

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  9. Wonderful! You brought her back to life... beautiful color choice. I love dressers too :) Visiting from Simple and Sweet Fridays.

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  10. very lovely! and I adore the flowers you paired it with for the photo shoot.

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  11. Gosh that was really bad, but you made it shine again! Love that color!

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    1. Thank you Sharon-it was horrible but worth the work!

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  12. Unbelievable what you did with this dresser! It is stunning!

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    1. Thank you Terrie-it was so bad at first I almost just left it at the Flea market!

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  13. WOW! What a transformation, you did a great job.

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  14. beautiful, love the color you chose.
    Marie @ In Our Happy Place

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  15. Thanks for linking up to the Pretty Preppy Party! Heather @ Southern State of Mind http://www.southernstateofmindblog.com/

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  16. Such a gorgeous makeover! The color and distressing is perfection! So glad you linked up to our Pretty Preppy Party! Sarah @ Life On Virginia Street

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  17. Thank you Sarah-I love the color too!

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