Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Dresser Found in the My Dad's Old Barn


 I had a somewhat of an unusual childhood.  I grew up in Northern California on a 600 acre horse ranch that had no electricity.  It was a fun and interesting way to grow up and sometime I will post about it I suppose    Last time I was "home" visiting my Dad I was poking through the 175 year old barn and found a great old dresser.
The Ranch with the Barn:


Ranch surrounded by Timber Land

 My Dad brought the dresser to Thanksgiving this year -we celebrate at my 96 year old Grandmother's house ( she is Amazing-lives on her own and still drives!).  
Here is the dresser Before:



The dresser is old and when I found it in the barn it had an old mouse nest in one of the drawers. Not my favorite thing that is for sure! My Dad cleaned it out before he brought it to me and then I washed it and even bleached all the inside of the drawers.  Since the dresser was old and had flaking paint I bought a Lead Paint test kit to test for lead  before I got to sanding.  I even bought the face and  eye protection kit.  After testing the paint I got to sanding.  


I sanded the entire dresser down, but not perfectly smooth since I like character and the rough surface would give it this. 

Before sanding

After the sanding was done, I mixed up a light aqua color and made my own chalk paint.  I painted the dresser and then hand painted a design in white on the drawer fronts.  To make the color have age and more character I used hemp oil/dark wax. 
Here it is painted on the dresser with my waxing brush:

I rub the wax/oil in and wipe off any excess.


I sealed the top with the same wax and hemp oil mixture. 



Hand-painted detail-the bottom part was there, but not on the top drawer

You can see the imperfections from the old paint and I love the texture

The legs have wooden casters









30 comments:

  1. Beautiful transformation! I love the color you've used on the base - - so pretty.

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    1. Thank you Robin-I like making custom colors that go with the vision in my head!

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  2. Hi, was wondering what the ratio of hemp oil to dark wax is; why do you prefer it; and the process....do you have to "melt" the wax before mixing? I'm new to redoing furniture and I am always in a quandary on whether to use hemp oil or wax because I like both of their unique features. This may solve my dilemma. Thanks, Rhonda

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    1. Hi Rohnda,
      I pour some oil in a little dish and then I dip my brush into the hemp oil and then directly into the dark wax. I like this process the best because I can control the shade of wax and it is super easy and fast.
      I hope that helps!

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  3. danke für die tollen inspirationen, eine schöne woche wünscht angie

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  4. You did an incredible job on this one! Love all the imperfections and the beautiful color.

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  5. Thank you Betsy-I love how it turned out too!

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  6. It's beautiful, it has so much character. Great job!

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    1. Thank you Camille-I love that I was able to rescue it and give it a new life!

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  7. I have found mouse house's before lol! Don't we lead such glamorous lives?! This is just lovely. What a transformation and I love the color and details you did. I also really enjoyed the background story and learning a little bit more about you. You need to write that post about your childhood - I am intrigued!

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    1. Thank you Suzanne-glamerouse like indeed! I will have to write that post sometime soon-it was a very different way to grow that is for sure

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  8. What a beautiful transformation. Love it!

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    1. Thank you Kathy-it was a satisfying project that is for sure!

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  9. It's stunning - the color, the stained top, the handpainted details - all of it. Love a good barn rescue!
    Marie@The Interior Frugalista

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    1. Thank you Marie-I am happy with it too and I love a good barn rescue too! I wish I could find more things in more barns!

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  10. What an amazing find! Absolutely gorgeous makeover!

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    1. Thank you Audra-I think it looks so much better now too!

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  11. Um, hey, you can't just leave me hanging here wondering what it was like growing up without electricity! I definitely want to hear more of this story. Hope you will share it soon! And as a side note, love the dresser. It is perfectly rustic.

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    1. Thanks--I suppose I will have to do a post soon about my childhood-it was different that is for sure. I lost my pictures on my phone that I took to share recently so.......

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  12. What a find! You did a fabulous job making it over. Love how it turned out and it looks gorgeous in your home.

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  13. Thank you Ruth-It was a lucky find in the old barn!

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  14. This is gorgeous! I have always loved a piece that is a paint/stain combo. Well done. I would love it if you would share this at my party on Welcome to the Woods Wednesday (backwoodsbabies.blogspot.com). It will be up a going on Tuesday evening. Hope to see you there.

    Sarah @ Backwoods Babies

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    1. Thank you Sarah-I will share it for sure-thanks for asking!

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  15. I would love to hear the step-by-step story as to when the dresser was purchased to how it ended up in a barn! The story that dresser could tell!

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    1. Thank you Rush-I asked my Dad about the dresser and he doesn't know or remember anything about it. It was just a piece in the barn that was used to store things for the ranch-mostly horse things.

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  16. Beautiful yet again, think i love everything on your blog!

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