Years ago furniture was a luxury. Only the wealthy had such a special thing in their homes. If the common folks had it they had pieces that were home-made with out all the fancy wood trims and hardware. The rich had the furniture that was well done by a furniture designer. Pieces were made by hand and came at a cost most couldn’t afford.
I love when I find these old pieces. They are getting harder and harder to come by. Most of them are in such bad condition that when you do find them you have work ahead. A few weeks ago I found one from the early 50’s. It was in the back bedroom of a home piled high with junk. No one at the sale was looking at it because you couldn’t really see it. I wanted it but they had the price really high. I knew the next morning it would be 75% off. It was at the end of they day for the sale so I took a chance. The next morning I was the first in line. I had no idea if it was there or not. It was!
The piece was beautiful and even had a built-in jewelry box on top. I knew I could make this come to life again and someone would love having it in their home. I love the way the design and extra trim sanded back. It shows the color of the wood through the paint. The insides of the drawers and the inside of the jewelry box had years of wear to them. I painted them out gray to finish them off.
Most of todays dressers are plain and simple with no extra to them. You don’t find the amazing wood trim and carvings like you did years ago. Kinda sad that we have gotten away from true craftsmanship. It’s all processed furniture these days. There is a way to give new furniture that old look without the expense of wood trim or paying for an artist to carve. I use a product called casting from the Chalk Country Paint line. It’s an easy application and only takes a little time. With this dresser I picked a stencil that would cover 3 of the 5 drawers. I taped the stencil where I wanted it to be. I then missed in Santa’s Coal Black Chalk Paint into the Casting product. I mixed it really well and applied it over the top of the stencil. I removed the stencil as soon as it was all covered. The shape of the stencil is left on the front of the drawers. I let it dry over night and lightly sanded the rough edges off the next morning. At this point I painted out the drawers and right over the stenciled area. Once I had all the coats of paint on and it was dry I simple did my sand back. I sanded right over the painted stenciled area. The sander removed bits and pieces of the paint to let the color of the casting show through. It now has a more ornate look like so many years ago when furniture was made by hand.
With this casting product you can make the plain and simple become the all dressed up. It’s simple to use and the cost is minimal. Changing what we have to be what we want is the best way to decorate our homes. Making our homes that special place we want to be without breaking the bank is a winner in my book.
