Vanessa spotted this dresser in Portland and fell in love with the shape and style, but not the dried-up, cracked surface. So instead of the typical paint over we so ofter see, she went the wood purist way. See what some hard work and dedication will uncover after the jump…
She began with a good clean and strip. The natural soy based stripper she began with didn't do the trick, so she had to call in the big guns to get rid of the old varnish. She worked outside and finally got through to the wood after a few rounds of stripping. Then she merely re-varnished with minwax, which brought the woodgrain and color to life. Now this dresser is ready to be fawned over again. Nice job Vanessa!
See more photos and read more about the project at Design*Sponge.
(Images: Design *Sponge)
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Oh my goodness...great job!
Ah, I could tell from the before pic that this wood would look incredible with a darker stain that would make the grain really pop and I am SO glad to see that you took the time and energy to do just that. This is absolutely breathtaking!
Beautiful! Thank god she didn't paint it!
So cool, great Job!
Two non-paint jobs today! And neither changed the hardware. I love this - the darker stain really brings out that art deco bookmatch.
Beautiful, that grain is just gorgeous.
Wow wee! Great job! Looks right off the showroom floor!
This is just stunning! I think this is the best "after" I have seen to date.
I wish I had the vision for this kind of stuff. I'm the fool who walks past this sort of thing in a resale shop & thinks "Ugh, nothing could make this look nice!" What do I know?? Such an improvement and a beautiful one at that!
Gorgeous!!!
beautiful job!
Really nice job!
The finish in the first made it look like a cheap veneer! So much better!
WOW--fantastic job! I have to admit that when I saw the post, my first thought was, "what color was it painted?". I love she chose not to! job well done!
BEAUTIFUL!!
Love this!
Wow... well done!
fantastic!
Beautiful. It doesn't even look like the same piece in the after pix.
WOW WEE.
well done ! very very simple elegant modern --glad you kept the hardware on this too.
EXCELLENT!
Love the grain, and that you preserved the cool hardware (and that you didn't paint it!).
Well done!
That IS beautiful!
But you couldn't pay me enough to strip and refinish a wood bureau. Ugh.
Mary
Gads, that is beautiful.
Awesome! Also, refreshing to see an overhaul that isn't just painting over. Looks like this took a lot more work, but I think it was very much worth it!
awesome! thanks for not painting the wood!
I too am delighted by the "After"! Such a surprise and sooo beautiful with all the original details just BETTER
I too thought that the "before" was a veneer finish. What a surprise! Wonderful job and oh so much work ... you should definitely be applauded!!
oh my god i thought i was veneer
*it
To all the commenters exclaiming that they "though it was veneer." That is a birch veneer, she says so on the Designsponge write-up. Veneer can be just as beautiful as solid wood if done correctly, and if it's not paper thin you can sand it down. I'm super impressed at how nice it looks with just a strip and a clear finish. In the end less or equal work of painting, and looks waaay better than that ever would.
Holy crap that is gorgeous!
Best "After" ever!!
So pretty!
Wow! That is about the most beautiful refinish I've seen yet.
Amazing!
Wow, I agree with Notyou!
The grain of the wood is stunning, she should be very proud!
Wow! This looks amazing. Nice work.
I have to say, when I saw the first picture, I assumed it was veneer (and not a nice one). I thought it looked like fake wood. The darker stain really suits it.
Wow, it's beautiful! Why would anybody have ever put that first finish on it??
Heavenly!!!! What a result, congratulations!!
Yes, much quality old furniture is made from veneer - especially if it is highly figured wood like this. It is refinishable, as this post shows. It can even be patched with a new piece of matching (more or less) veneer in places where the veneer has chipped off. The key is that it be real wood veneer, and not a plastic. In old pieces like this one, it is always wood...I figured that from the style of the piece in the first pic. (Cheap plasic wood-look veneer is on newer funirture is designed as simpler pieces usually.) You can always tell which it is when you feel the finish in personn.
Most people who see this stuff beat up figure they don't know that it can be brought back. If this site posted more refinishing jobs like this, rather than all those "it was so beat up our only option was to paint it" pieces, more people would know there are other options. Gorgeous job, by the way.
And for those who don't want to strip furniture , I get that (I used to, but don't anymore - can't see doing it in my apartments' living rooms and kitchens like I did when I was young, would want a garage or yard, which I've never had, being an urban dweller, but I'd want that extra space to sand and paint something now as well) - there are people you can hire to do this stuff at their shops for you, and it may not be all that expensive, depending on the cost of labor and shop space rental in the city where you live...now that's even easier than painting!
WOW! Incredible job. I like that you took off the hutch while refinishing it - it seems a lot more versatile without.
absolutely gorgeous - agree with others, so glad she didn't paint over the beautiful grain! well done...
Beautiful - but what's that thing on the top in the before picture?
AMAZING how such a small change (not small amount of work, mind you, but visually, just a bit of color enhancement/enrichment) makes such a HUGE change in the overall appearance. I'd walk right by the "before", but the "after" is a real eye-catcher!
what 5th said...
nice work!
Simply stunning!
Holy dresser drawers batman!
I was terrified they would have ruined this- was so relieved and stunned by how well it came out when I saw the after photos! Beautiful job
Fantastic results!
Stunning!
No matter how much work wet into it, the "After" is worth it! The beautiful grain takes my breath away. Congratulations on a job well done!
It now looks like something totally contemporary. One more vote as best "after"! Now, I want to see what becomes of that hutch!
Gorgeous!
This is stunning! Does anyone have advice on how to refinish the metal hardware? I have a similar dresses but the handles and feet are all peeled and discoloured. Not sure what to do or where to start with those and don't want to replace them!
Thanks!
Outstanding...simply outstanding.
I'm dying to know what clever thing they did with the top!
Can you stand to hear one more BEAUTIFUL!! It's a gorgeous piece.
WOW! What a fabulous transition : )
Gorgeous! I'm impressed she was able to do so well with veneer. Sometimes chemical stripper can mess with the veneer adhesive. That is a very professional looking refinishing job.
Holy...heck. That was worth every second. I want to lick it.
Fantastic re-do. Totally gave that piece new life.
Sounds like a lot of work! Happy to hear others have problems with stripping. On TV it always looks so easy... I'm still working on my kitchen table. After two rounds of citrus-based stripper, metal sanding bit on my drill and then finally giving in and getting a super-toxic stripper, after two rounds of that, and a lot of elbow grease, I got the thing stripped.
The old finish was a baked-on enamel.
Now I'm trying to find out what paint will give me a surface as study as that was!
Really nice.
WOAH. Dramatic After indeed. All that hard work paid off! What stripper was used? I'd love to do this to a few pieces myself!
WOWSA! Worth the effort!
This is a top redo on my list.
Looks fabulous - What an amazing transformation! It just goes to show that we can refurbish as opposed to throwing away and always buying new!
Great job.
Very, very nice!
Just one little thing---Minwax is a brand, not a varnish. They make a lot of different products, but I'm not sure they make actual varnish. Maybe the AT blogger who wrote this piece meant stain?
this is amazing.. definitely one of the best before/afters ever!!
Quite often, I prefer the 'befores' but that is simply wonderful!
Impressive!
To be clear folks this is NOT stained. Staining a wood such as this is just as bad as painting it. There was so much beautiful wood, which was finished with this crappy tinted lacquer, which covers the beauty of the wood. Then there seemed to be an excess of 'stain' put on wood that does not need staining.
In addition, those who commented about "I thought this was veneer", veneer is wood, and can be refinished. Although one must take care not to sand too much. Perhaps you are thinking of plastic laminate.
This is anything but birch, this most likely ribbon Mahogany. If by chance, it is a cheaper wood it would be poplar. Birch is a plain white wood somewhat like maple only lighter and it is not two toned.
Gorgeous. Stunning.
Simply gorgeous!
I was so worried the after would be a mod-podged mess with bright and gaudy paper. Thank god it's not, and you did a great job!
I think is the best furniture restoration post I have ever seen on AT! The dresser is just beautiful and would be a centerpiece in any room! I took my breath away when I saw the after. Makes me want to run out to my local thrift store this instant -