Plain to Classy Antique Chest of Drawers Redo

Thursday, September 1, 2016

Plain to Classy Antique Chest of Drawers Redo

It's that time again! This month, The Fab Furniture Flippin’ ContestTM is sponsored by D. Lawless Hardware and the theme is "Class It Up!"

I had this very old and plain chest of drawers stored with intentions of doing just that! It was in dire need of something and the contest was a great opportunity to finally get it done. The old knobs had to go and... it needed more something... more.

I opted to re-finish with stain, add decorative wood appliques and metal drawer pulls to achieve a classy antique look.

Disclosure: D. Lawless Hardware generously supplied products to each participant for this contest. I received 8 beautiful Pewter Paisley Cup Pulls and 8 Birch Wood corner appliques. Although this post is considered sponsored, all opinions are 100% my own.

To start, I had to prep the piece by repairing the top, glue and clamp the drawers and then sand off all of the old finish. Then, I added the wood appliques.

Using wood glue, I attached the corner appliques to the sides of the dresser inside the framework. I previously ordered other appliques from D. Lawless Hardware and decided to use them as well. I attached the large decorative piece on the top drawer and two smaller ones at the base board.

Once the wood glue was dry, I hand sanded the smooth finish on all of the appliques to soak up stain. After staining, I used an antique dark wax to seal the wood and accentuate the lines of the carvings. When it was set, I rubbed in clear bee's wax.

Finally, drilled holes for the cup pulls and attached them.

The plain chest of drawers took on a whole new classy look.

I love how the corner appliques give an antique look to the sides. They are my favorite and are gradually becoming my trademark.

The cup pulls highlight the piece. While creating an old look, the front is all "jazzed up".

All sides now have character.

A reminder of how it was before:

So, back to the details of The Fab Furniture Flippin' Contest!

The theme is "Class It Up!"

Our Sponsor is D. Lawless Hardware

D. Lawless Hardware is an importer and distributor of cabinet and furniture hardware. It's products include knobs, pulls, hinges, slides, hooks, screws, fasteners, and wood trim used by furniture manufacturers. A large part of this business is mail order, although many of the local furniture builders also use D. Lawless Hardware.

Our contest hosts are Evey at Evey's Creations and Stacy at Anastasia Vintage