My friend Lori and her friend Patti commissioned a special piece for some young newlyweds, and I was happy to do so. Lori's Mom was my preschool Sunday School teacher so I've known her for a loooooong time. Good thing too, cuz the piece they picked needed some 'splainin'. The piece they chose, and no I forgot to take any before photos again, looked pretty decent on the outside excluding a dark stain or two on the top. What we failed to notice at first was that the drawer bottoms were all patchworked together because the glides were all messed up. The holes for the old, but not original, hardware were drilled at extremely odd angles and not level...at all. And the legs had been cut off at some point in it's life. At least they seemed level as it does not rock at all. Well, all old pieces tell a story of sorts, and I loved finding an old political sign tacked up as a make-do drawer bottom. I did not like that all the tiny nails someone had added in the feeble hope of keeping sketchy bottoms attached, but they missed the support wood completely and were lining the back of each drawer to make lock jaw seem like a given. What I did think, once we removed all the tiny nails was that someone really loved this piece enough to try, despite maybe limited furniture repair skills, and hold this dresser together and make it last. So to the young couple who receives this dresser, may you share many joys and, if there are rough spots, scratches, and dings along the way, may you use whatever means necessary to patch things up! The truly good things are worth the work, the stories they tell are more interesting and appreciated.
When Lori and Patti commissioned this piece they gave me a lot of freedom. Because this piece was quite old and had some oily spots that even my best primers couldn't quite kill I chose to blend 3 different colors for the base. The movement would disguise any "freckles" that still wanted to bleed through. And the oak was a bit rough and the graining opened up in some spots. I used American Paint Company paints in Rushmore, Smoke Signal, and Plymouth Rock. Just dipping and blending as I went. It really seemed to soften up some of the rougher areas.
There was a lot of back and forth discussion on what kind of graphic to use on those nice flat drawers. With the help of the Bride's Mother we were able to access some inspirational pins from the Bride's Pinterest Board. Such a great idea! Here is the one that I chose to use on this piece. With some tiny pops of Peacock and Fireworks Red and Freedom Road for the lettering it all started coming together.
It's always a process with client pieces. They wanted something bright and graphic and my first attempt didn't quite get it, but you just can't go wrong with Chevrons. Especially chevrons in a nice happy yellow. It's called A-Maize-ing, and it is! We repaired all those wonky hardware holes and added new simple black pulls. Sooo much better!
It's a good feeling to see this old but wonderful dresser writing a new chapter with a young couple writing their own new chapter! Congratulations! Wishing you all the Best!!
Deb
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