This piece was actually an accidental find. I went to meet a future antiques dealer in the hope a serpentine dresser was in good condition. When I arrived, I found it was not in great condition; further outside what I felt we could handle, but this guy had TONS of cool pieces in his storage unit. I noticed this piece right away, as it's extremely hard to miss those turned legs! I looked around at all the other pieces he had and tried not to seem too excited, because I didn't want him to drive the price up, so after pretending to be interested in some of the other pieces in his unit, eventually I asked him about it.
Every single one of his pieces had a flaw. Something needed replacing, secured, or missing pieces. I mean, I expect old vintage and antique pieces to not be in perfect condition, but I have found that most of them are easy repairs and this had a leg falling off. Fortunately for me, I knew this was an easy fix, although he didn't and sold it to me for a great price.
Jake was a little surprised when I was supposed to come home with a dresser and instead pulled this out of the back of my car, but he was very happy that the only work this needed was stripping the original top (too many scratches)and securing the detached leg.
Then the fun began! I love the two-toned look of paint and contrasting wood. So I wanted to re-stain the top a medium wood color, especially since the top was a soft wood and would absorb the paint quickly and deeply.
I picked, General Finishes "Antique Walnut" with a satin wipe-on poly for the top. The based was painted in Fusion Mineral Paint's "Homestead Blue." Now let me tell you about this paint:
It is Acrylic Paint Based.
They have a sophisticated color choice palette.
The application of the paint is the smoothest I have EVER used.
Self-levels and their coverage is AMAZING!
And by the way, I was not paid or compensated in any way (although if Fusion is out there reading this, send some love a.k.a paint my way). When I say this is my own opinion, I mean that reducing the expensive learning curve of paint products means helping to make the refinishing life easier for you. This is seriously one of the most under rated paints on the market.
This piece used one coat. Seriously...O-N-E Coat of paint for solid coverage!. I used 1/4 cup total for this piece including touchups that I had missed! For someone as cheap thrifty as I am, saving money where you can especially on supplies is always a winner in my book and I know in using Fusion Mineral Paint, I will save money on paint because I'm using less, so it lasts longer.
I just can't get over those legs! They don't make pieces like this anymore simply because it is a lot of work to be so detailed and creative. I wish the art of carpentry and furniture making was less MDF and more solid wood. Heirloom pieces are hard to come by but this piece could totally be one.
The picture on the left reminds us that not everything needs to be extravagant and overdone, but it's the simplicity that leaves so much to the mind. In simplicity you can create! Keep that in mind to all you DIY'ers out there.
Beautiful!
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