Major Makeover

Check out the dramatic difference between these "before" and "after" photos on this 1920's bedroom dresses. Years of damage had taken its toll, as evidenced by the water stains, dings, and glue (the owner had glued some sort of piece on top of the dresser). After some major stripping and sanding, this dresser now has a new face.

Before repair:







After repair:

Rehab'd chest of drawers: from start to finish

Take a look at this dresser when it was brought to me...

There were water stains...

Extreme discoloration on one end...

...and general wear and tear that hid the natural beauty of the grainline. The drawer pulls were beautiful but tarnished and worn.

I started by sanding down the entire piece, and then I worked on removing those water stains:



Here is the back, mid-way through sanding...

Here is the side in the middle of repair...

And here is the final dresser, after multiple rounds of sanding and staining.

Look at how beautiful these pulls turned out. They were removed and soaked in a boiling vinegar combination and then buffed out by hand.

Top of dresser - finished

Side view, after staining and sanding...

The tongue-in-groove construction of these drawers gave me the idea to play up the tongue, continuing the stain around each drawer. This small detail adds to the uniqueness of the piece.

I was thrilled to deliver this beautiful piece to its grateful owner.