The Heart Dresser

The first thing Mr. Bad said when I showed him this dresser on Craigslist was "What's with the Ugly Heart Thing?" The next thing was: "You're not really going to buy it are you?"  He wasn't feeling the love for this dresser.

I brought it home and it sat in the barn for about a year while I painted smaller things. Finally, last Monday, we brought it into my work room and I started thinking about how I wanted to paint it.

Usually, I work out the colors in Photoshop before I paint large pieces and that's what I did with this one. I settled on a neutral palette after first experimenting
with color.

Then I got all crazy and started running the image through filters. I ended up with an image that kinda looked like the distressed image in my mind.

Mr. Bad's comment: "You aren't taking that Ugly Heart Thing off?"

sigh

 The finished piece, complete with Ugly Heart Thing.

I started with Rushmore (American Paint Company) on the drawers. It turned out more gray than I'd planned but I liked it. I then dry brushed ASCP CoCo over the Rushmore and followed up with a wash of CeCE Caldwell Seattle Mist over the whole thing.

I purposely left brush strokes to "catch" the dark wax. The pulls are original but
I sprayed them with Oil-Rubbed Bronze. They had been brass and just didn't work for me....

I did the same paint layers on the top but I sanded down to the smoothest surface I could. I also did two washes of Seattle Mist.

Three coats of wax got me the really pretty lusture I wanted. Before the third coat of wax I wet sanded the top with 500 grit sandpaper. I wet sand a lot but I forget to mention it. Wet sanding creates a smooth-as-glass surface.

The sides and trim are American Paint Company Navajo White with clear
and dark wax.

 The dresser has this copper inset - real copper - with a wood applique attached on top. It's unusual, I've not seen that before. At first I wasn't sure I liked it but then it kinda grew on me.

I should note that all the distressing was done with a green scour pad and water. I love that technique! It's a much softer look than sanding down to the wood.

(casters!)

This dresser has such nice details. I absolutely love it. And guess what?

Heart Thing, I think I love you.

 This is such a romantic dresser, don't you think?

And now it is at the Collector's Market in Medford awaiting a new home.
It will make someone very happy.

Linking up with:
make-it-pretty-monday
take it on Tuesday 
nifty thrifty tuesday 
wow us wednesday 
whatever goes wednesday 
the trendy tree house 
transformation thursday 
furniture feature friday 
redoux interiors
funky junk interiors 
finding fabulous
frugal-friday
show-tell-saturday
sunday showcase