Picture Perfect Cooking

In slowly finishing the upstairs, we have painted the walls and hung hardware in the bathroom.  I have even refinished an antique metal bed to use in one of the bedrooms.  The next thing on the list was a couple pieces of furniture to be used in that same room.  I really wanted something that at least looked antique to match the bed, but did not want to pay antique prices.  Enter more family furniture like the bed. 

In my great-grandparents’ old house were some pieces that no one had room or use for so my Nanny offered them to me.  I jumped at the chance, not only because they have family history, but also because they are two beautifully detailed pieces of furniture that were begging for a make-over.  I made sure that it was okay with Nanny to completely re-do them before I started and she was excited that I was so excited about them.  Here they are in their pre-redo glory:

I just love that scalloped edge on the dresser and both pieces are in excellent shape.  I do need to put new drawer runners on them, but they are okay for now.  Refinishing furniture was a new endeavor for me so online I went to search for a few ideas.  Here are some links that I highly recommend for product ideas and how-tos:

Before Meets After, Censational Girl, and Just A Girl. I am sure there are many more than that, but these three really helped me a lot.  One thing that was consistent with all of theses were their use of Zinsser primer.  I know why now…it is tintable so it is easy to use with dark paint and it hides a multitude of sins.  Along with this primer, most also use Elmer’s Wood Filler to hide pesky holes and dents in the wood.  Sherwin Williams is my paint of choice so that is what I used here.  It is oil based enamel in black satin.

First I cleaned the pieces with warm soapy water and dried them thoroughly.  Next I light sanded to remove any chipping paint and smooth out the worst dings.  I didn’t sand these completely smooth because I wanted some of that old distressed look.

I filled in the worse of the dents with the wood filler and also filled in the knob holes in the dresser drawers because I wanted to use different pulls.  Let the filler set up and sand until smooth.  Cover all of the surfaces completely with primer.  I used 2 coats for a nice base for the paint.

Paint the pieces any color you want.  In my case, I wanted black to go in the purple bedroom with the silver bed frame.  I think I put 3 coats of paint on the pieces to get the desired look I wanted.  On the dresser, I then measured each drawer front to find the center and drilled new holes for the pretty glass knobs I found at Hobby Lobby and attached them.

For the chiffarobe, I wanted to add a little extra pizzazz so I stenciled a floral design on the door in silver and highlighted the pretty trim in silver as well.  I was thrilled with how they turned out and can’t wait to start my next project!

Speaking of my next projects, here is a sneak peek: