My latest project

(Sorry in advance for the crappy photos.)

This dresser appeared on Craigslist on Monday and I was lucky enough to "win" it. I say that because it was lucky that I was the first person to call about it, lucky that the seller called me back first and luckier still that she didn't sell it out from under me after I said I was going to come get it (which has happened to me before and it SUCKS). Apparently she got a ton of calls about it after I talked to her, so once I convinced her that I was definitely, certainly and without a doubt coming to get it, she was willing to tell everyone else that it was spoken for.

It really is a beautiful piece. I love the shape of it and it's the perfect size for Pyper's room. Unfortunately it's an antique that hasn't been taken care of so there's a lot of damage to the wood veneer and some of the substrate (layer underneath the veneer that's attached to the hardwood body).


My original intention was to strip off the old black paint, then just repaint it white to match the rest of Pyper's furniture. But once I started stripping it the beautiful mahogany and walnut wood underneath gave me second thoughts.

Isn't it pretty? I'm almost done stripping it. Just one more side to go.

I love the turned feet and the detail on the apron at the bottom.

This medallion thing on the top drawer turned out to be made of some other kind of wood which is really pretty in person.

(Not sure why Blogger turned this photo sideways.) This is the only drawer that's not covered with a veneer. That wood grain is just gorgeous.

Here you can see the different wood layers on the other drawers. The top dark layer is a mahogany veneer, then the substrate, then the hardwood drawer face shows at the corner.
I've decided I'm going to try to repair the missing veneer by purchasing some new mahogany, then trimming the edges of the missing sections so they're not so jagged and fitting new pieces into the holes like a puzzle. It's going to be tricky and will probably test my patience more than anything, but if all goes well I'll get to just varnish the whole thing and have a beautiful piece when I'm done! And if all doesn't go well, I'll have to figure out a Plan B. :)