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Hi.

Welcome to The Whimsical Wife. Thanks for popping in to share my adventures in the kitchen, in my home and my workshop as I Cook, Create & Decorate. 

French Country Dresser

By the time this post pops up on your screens it will have been a few weeks since I completed this dresser and I might of even had a baby by now... let's hope so.



I probably picked this dresser up in late May or early June at my local op shop. It was LOVE at first sight. I circled it like a predator circles it's prey, giving it the once over on all angles, checking for faults, character and looking at its shape and lines. I liked what I saw.

It was in pretty good condition apart from a bit of rot on one of the legs, which we had to eventually replace (well hubby did the hard work on that one). I promptly haggled the price down with the op shop people (I think I got $10 off it but hey it all helps) paid for it and left the shop. I got home and informed bevan (and his brother who was there at the time with a ute) that there was something I needed them to pick up at the op shop down the road. Bevan groaned and said, "What did you buy now?". Hahaha. He is always dreading those words I think. He doesn't complain however once I have done them up and sold them.



 This was a fairly old dresser with a lot of layers of paint on it. I opted not to strip the whole thing back to the original wood as the time and effort to do that would of outweighed the price I probably could get for it. I did strip back the top though with paint stripper and a good sand. You can see how the stain was quite dark on the wood underneath. I wanted a warmer stain so continued to sand it back to the original wood underneath.




 I also gave the whole piece a good sand back in preparation for undercoating and painting. I decided to stain the top before painting to save slopping stain on newly painted areas. The stain colour I used is called Manuka. Its a lovely warm honey colour, however I was a little unsure if I liked it at first. I am always a bit like that when using new products and colours especially wood stains. However I was happy with the end result of this colour which you can see in pictures below.

 

 I then safely taped and wrapped the top up with masking tape and newspaper to protect it from the paint that was going to get applied to the dresser. At this point in my pregnancy - I think I was around 37-38 weeks I just could not summon the energy or back power to get this painter. Thankfully my sweet husband stepped in for me and did a marvelous job of painting the dresser for me. He knows how to use the spray gun pretty well (better than me anyway - I'm still learning how to spray with it properly) I just sat on a stool at the entrance of the shed and watched the paint go on.



 If you into renovating or painting furniture I would so recommend getting a airless spray gun. It cuts painting time down in half and the finished result is fantastic (once you get the hang of it).



  Once the undercoat and top coats of paint had dried it was time to unwrap my present. Taaadaaa.



It was then time to add the finishing touches. I waxed the wooden top with a dark furniture wax to really bring out the wood grain and enrich the stain. It come up a real treat. After a buff with a soft cloth the wooden top glowed and really quite honestly looked perfect.






 It was then time to finish it off with some new draw pull handles. The ones that were originally on the dresser gave it a 60's feel so I removed them before painting and replaced them with these gorgeous scalloped matte black cup pull handles from Bunnings.



 

 I gave the whole piece a wax with some clear furniture wax to protect it and give it a nice shine. It turned out pretty darn good if I don't say so myself. These are my most favourite projects the ones that have a full 180 degree turn around on the look of the piece. It gives me a true sense of satisfaction. I do have to give a big thank-you to Bevan for helping me get this piece finished because otherwise it still probably wouldn't be painted if it was left up to me at the moment!



I am not sure how often I will get to do pieces like these now that a baby is in the house but I guess time will only tell! :-)


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