I found her all sad and lonely and barely hanging on until her next meal in an antique mall. One of those big old buildings that are full of different booths that have junk of every kind. I am pretty good at moving quickly up and down the isles scanning each space for anything that catches my eye. Ok, occasionally I might get lost in one for awhile, if it has just the right combination of old junk, and Scott will have to come dig me out, but that doesn't happen too often.
I don't have photos of her from in the shop, but I would like to say it was kinda dark in the back where I first spotted her. 😊 I stopped and gave her a quick look over and tested a drawer or two. The price on the tag seemed about right for the shape she was in but I couldn't take her yet anyway. The van was loaded with a tall chest of drawers that we were delivering the next day and nothing else would fit. I decided to stop there again on the way home and if she was still there, and the van had room, I would take her home.
You obviously know what happened when I stopped back by the shop on my way home.🙂 The woman that owned the booth was there and she had just marked the price tag down again to try to get rid of her. How could I refuse?
By the time I was loading her up in the van I was regretting buying her. Out in the daylight you could see that all of the wood side panels were warped and split, the legs had lost most of the chunks of detail, the top was a complete mess, and although every original caster was still firmly attached they were rusted and the wooden wheels had busted chunks out of them. Not to mention she was missing the one thing that made her a vanity, a beautiful mirror!
The photos above were taken after I cleaned her up and removed the damaged veneer from the sides. By now I was seriously considering the burn pile thinking about all of the time I would still need to put in. I decided to move forward and keep going one step at a time. The key in an instance like this for me is literally only think about the very next step and not get overwhelmed. So I started sanding the top...
The old finish was just falling off but there were some deep stains that had to be about 100 years old. I kept going until I loved the look.
See how pretty it was becoming ☝🏼
The next step was to remove and replace the side panels that were warped beyond repair. I have a local lumberyard in my little town that cuts pieces for me when I need them.
☝🏼 This is my professional system of gluing the sides on 😃
I then treated the top and everything else I wasn't going to paint with hempseed oil.
Look what I found in one of the drawers! All of the missing pieces to make the feet complete! I still had to glue them back on, but I was thrilled they were all there. 🤗
Thanks to Redesign with Prima and Paint Couture Paint for making such great products. As a content creator for Redesign with Prima, I receive their products at no cost to me. Paint Couture was nice enough to send me these three colors to pair up with the Rose & Rouge transfer for a challenge. This was the first time I had used this paint and I loved it. It went on so smooth and the coverage was great! I will definitely be using it again.
I also used a stencil and a wax that are not pictured here. I will link them and the other products at the bottom of this page if you are interested in getting them for yourself.
All it needs now is the hardware. After a good scrubbing I used a Decor Wax in Aged Brass to bring it back to life. Look at the difference that made!
Goldenrod metallic sheen acrylic paint was perfect for highlighting details.
I bought all new casters for the feet and they fit perfectly. 💃
The insides of the drawers were a mess with ink stains and whatnot so they got painted.
That made a huge difference! They are so pretty now. 💗
The sides of the drawers got stamped with a Prima stamp called Vintage Wallpaper. I linked it at the bottom also.
Nothing was left untouched. I love the contrast of the simplicity of the wood finish with the painted touches that gave it some elegance.
You can see in the photo below there is a mirror attached. It actually took me almost an entire day of phone calls to every shop I could think of within about 60 miles trying to find one that would work. I came up with a few leads but nothing else.
The next day I woke up thinking about a shop very close to home that I hadn't tried yet and lo and behold they said yes, they had one that could possibly work! I had to make a few adjustments removing wood and cutting pieces from the bottom, but it worked out great.
What do you think? Would you ever go through this much effort to refinish such an old, decrepit piece? Let me know if you have any questions, I would be happy to answer them for you.
As of this post she is currently available for purchase on my website Halfpastfourdesign.com
I ship nationwide and have free local delivery.
You can find the Redesign with Prima products I used with my affiliate links here:
Metallic paint: https://retail.redesignwithprima.com/product/redesign-acrylic-paint-metallic-sheen-goldenrod-1-jar-100-ml-3-4-fl-oz/?aff=17
Stamp on drawer sides: https://retail.redesignwithprima.com/product/redesign-decor-clear-cling-stamps-vintage-wallpaper-12x12-clear-cling/?aff=17
Thank you for supporting my dream!
Monica