restore, renew, recycle

pine dresser top

sanding the top back to bare wood

updated to2011!

closeup of  the dresser base. I think this would look good without the top.

I thought you may like to see a project I have just completed for a client. It was a pine dresser which had belonged to her grandmother. She didn't want to get rid of it because of the memories it evoked, but felt it did not fit in with the rest of her decor. After lightly sanding the piece to get a good surface fot the paint to adhere to I gave it a coat of water-based primer. Normally I paint furniture with emulsion paint and finish with 2 coats of a matt water-based varnish. However the client wanted me to use an oil-based eggshell paint, so I used Lead Colour 117 for the main colour and French Grey 113 for the backboards, both colours from the Little Greene Paint Company. The worktop I sanded back to the bare wood with an electric sander and then stained it a couple of times with a walnut woodstain. I wanted an aged distressed finish to this, so I sanded it back a bit and then rubbed in some grey emulsion paint and sanded again, I finished off with a couple of coats of a dark wax. I love this kind of job, it is so good to bring something back to life, to be beautiful and useful again. Have a happy day!