Shabby Chic Beauty

Oh me, Oh my! I am having so much fun re-doing, re-vitalizing, re-purposing, re-designing ... etc ... these "vintage/antique" furniture pieces.
This time, I found a Bassett dresser at my local thrift store. For $20 I picked up this all wood, dovetail drawer treasure.


But lets be honest. It didn't look so chic when I first saw it. Here's the before.


It was scratched and dinged and I'm not exactly sure what you would call this color or wood tone? Let's just call it "not pretty" for now. 
But I have learned to look past the lack of aesthetic properties and prefer to visualize the potential beauty deep beneath the surface. I further envision a world where all old wood furniture will make its way into the loving hands of those of us who love the "re-do" challenge. Ahhh, to dream!


 These pieces do take work. I sanded it down with my nifty orbital sander. If I had to sand the whole piece by hand, I'd be checking out the local sales for tools. Craigslist is always good for tools too. There were a few curvy spots where I had to sand by hand, but that was minimal.
FYI- I use 80 grit then 150 grit then finally 220 grit sand paper. You want the wood soft and smooth.
The top had this really thick piece of veneer, so I decided to leave this in place and stain just the drawers.
 There were a few places I needed to fix. This drawer needed a little wood filler. Make sure you get wood filler that can be stained or painted.
 Next, Prime. Prime, Prime.
 I used two coats of Grenadier Pond by Benjamin Moore. It was left over from my last shabby chic dresser which I just sold, so I was thinking, why not do it again.
 I shab just the edges of the dresser. I'm not a major shabby girl, but a little goes a long way for me.
 Then I used the antique glaze from Lowes. I love this stuff and it's so easy to use. It can be scary the first time, but trust me, it's worth using.
This is what it looks like when you "brush paint" the gel on.


 Just wipe off the excess with a (hot) wet rag. I do this process to few times, taking off most of the glaze and doing it again until I get the antique look I want to achieve.
 Of course, I couldn't decide on the handles. I wasn't sure if I should keep the original brass pulls or paint them antique bronze. I asked my friends on facebook and most said the gold side. Gold side it is! Thanks, friends!
Finally, a coat of polycrylic and she was done!


Love. Love. Love. What do you think?


Blessings,
Lisa

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