Today, I thought I’d revisit the do-over of this American Empire Revival chest of drawers. I found it at a neighborhood church sale this spring and had plans first to stencil a prairie style design on the front. This morphed into a different plan for a two-tone effect, but it in the end I just [...]
August 23, 2010
Below is the After result for a garbage dresser. I took this photo as we loaded it to take to Sunday’s Vintage Bazaar. The black and white is a Nepal paper from the Paper Source, and red paint covers the formica top of the dresser. The dresser sold right away to a woman who lives with [...]
June 14, 2010
A cheer for Monday following a weekend that, were we sitting together at the movies, our feature film would be called Invasion of the Viruses. Two thumbs down. To review, here’s this week’s subject, the Empire Revival chest and mirror. And here it is with the warped laminate peeled off. Wood purists, you may cringe, but I think [...]
June 7, 2010
Up next in makeover land is this heavy set oak chest and mirror. The set is from the church sale down the block, rummage retail $30. Consulting the style guide in the Furniture Doctor, the chest and mirror have elements of the American Empire period, characterized by the kind of clunky curves in the bottom two [...]
May 17, 2009
Item: Plain chest with an antique kit finish, given to me by my brother-in-law. The Before: What more is there to say about in-laws that hasn’t already been expressed Henny Youngman or Jay Leno’s joke writers. Take my brother-in-law, a CPS teacher who spent many summers trekking through the UK and collecting antiques. His apartment just off [...]
April 28, 2009
A gorgeous before and after by Missy, an English major who wrote up the project, and Kirk, who took the photos and whose visual stories – dont’ miss them – can be seen here. Thanks, M & K. Found Item: 9 drawer mid-century dresser Where: Craigslist.com for $25 (picked up from Maywood, IL) The Makeover: First, I was [...]
March 8, 2009
Let’s see: Top white for socks, yellow for underwear, green for tee’s and bottom for jeans. The garanimals dresser. This is the improved version of Project Nineteen. Over the weekend, I added paint to the top and sides. Much better.
March 6, 2009
Found Item: 4-drawer chest of drawers Where: Alley in west Rogers Park, around Ridge and Morse The Makeover: Truth be told, I almost threw this one back. The lightweight wood disintegrated into a floor full of sawdust on sanding. And the piece looked like the one you put your clothes in at summer camp, it’s shape nothing [...]
March 1, 2009
This aqua dresser is the coming week’s project. Found in West Roger’s Park, all in one piece and with some pleasing detail. It’s made of a light weight wood and begs a color change to give it some presence.
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August 26, 2010
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