When I spotted this beauty at an auction, I knew I had to have her. (OK, maybe former beauty, but I could see her potential). I knew exactly what I wanted to do to bring her back to life. And then I got her home.
Let’s just say things did not go as planned. I envisioned refinishing the wood on the tops of the dresser and the drawer fronts in a rich, medium brown stain. I would highlight this gorgeous wood with a very pale gray green on the body of the vanity and the mirror frame. Unfortunately, once I started sanding, it turned out the wood was too damaged to re-stain. It had chunks missing that would just not refinish well. Time to figure out a “plan B”.
Since all of the wood needed to be painted, my challenge was to not lose all of the character of the vanity. It had graceful curves and details that I needed to find a new way to highlight. I chose a charcoal gray paint for the flat surfaces and the mirror frame, and stayed with my original gray green choice for the rest. It looked awful–like I slapped fresh paint on an old piece (which, to be fair, is what I had done). I decided to show off the design in the drawers by highlighting it in charcoal. Actually made it worse. Then I decided to dry-brush charcoal paint onto the gray-green to help define the character and curves. (Dry brushing is a technique where you dip just the tip of your brush in paint and then wipe 99% of the paint off before you brush over your piece. It deposits just enough paint to create a patina look and highlights details.) Bingo! I finished it off with dry-brushing khaki paint over the charcoal. A few new drawer pulls and I am thrilled!
Refinishing furniture is far from a science. Often, it involves a LOT of trial and error. And more error. My point is, if you keep working with it and follow your instincts, you can often come up with a beautiful outcome–even if it isn’t what you first envisioned.
Hold my wine, I’ve got this…
Amy
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