How Vivienne managed to look at this sponge-painted dresser and visualize something fabulous is extraordinary in and of itself. Most of us would see that dresser in a Craigslist ad and laugh that the seller expected to get $25 for it, but Vivienne knew that underneath that faux finish nightmare stood a solid piece of furniture with clean lines that would work in her cabin home.
Vivienne used chemical stripper and a wire brush to strip off all the ugly acrylic paint, the polished dark wood. She then scoured eBay for pieces of cowhide to cover the drawer fronts. Finishing off the project with nailhead trim, Vivienne created a one of a kind piece that worked perfectly in her cabin. When she eventually sold the cabin, she loved this piece so much she took it back to her home where it serves as a buffet in her dining room. This is a great project for anyone who loves the idea of cowhide but doesn't have the space or budget for a whole one.
For more information and pictures of this transformation, check out Holy Cowhide! A Dresser Makeover on her blog The V Spot.
Images: Vivienne at The V Spot.
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Wow! The difference is amazing. That is a truly striking piece.
Fantastic. Well done and just enough...not too much!
Agreed.
Nice.
And man, oh man was that sponge paint CRAZY!
I'm so happy for that poor dresser! It has been given a new life.
Wasn't this same post on here awhile back?
Was the dresser in the army before Vivienne got ahold of it? Or was it just a die-hard survivalist? Seriously gorgeous redo.
Good God was that camo sponge paint?!??!??!?! Ugh. Some people. Vivienne - thank you for rescuing that beast!
@cocochic: we did indeed see this project earlier this year. but this project is so impressive it's worth another look!
better than before but still ugly. who the hell puts cow hide on a drawer?
QUOTE: who the hell puts cow hide on a drawer?
Someone with imagination & creativity, both of which are sadly on the endangered list at present. This piece is unique & original & honestly, REFRESHING.
Well done.
Hmm... so many options for "borrowing" this idea
I'm thinking ostrich.
Yikes - I'm not a Vegan or anything, but I don't want a dead animal's furry skin on my dresser, thank you very much.
Looks like a good way to incorporate the look of cowhide without having to use the real thing, too. Smaller pieces are easier to pass off as 'real' without looking fakey like most artificial cowhide rugs etc. tend to.
Not what I was expecting - the end result is really lux. I've been looking for a way to reference the leather from a wingback into my dining room - I may have to start hitting Sally Ann looking for dressers! Great idea.
This is a fantastic transformation! Love the idea of using swatches of cow hide in that way. My mother surprised me with a cow hide earlier this year to warm up my bedroom floor, and although I was initially creeped out by it, I now can't imagine my space without it!
That's amazing!!
I'm with joannaelizabeth - I'm not a vegan, but something about nailing an animal's skin to the front of a dresser for decorative purposes is totally disgusting.
(A similar epiphany got me to stop buying leather shoes and handbags, but I just love hamburgers too much to stop eating them!)
this has been online a while.
i still shudder when seeing it.
not attractive
No, I don't like it. There are so many options available for covering the drawers, the hides are hideous!
Um, yeah. Not my thing, either.
I hope that's faux cowhide... OTOH, I wonder how it would look with dog fur, or maybe cat hides. Calico might be chic. Or maybe Siamese...
I don't wear fur and I don't decorate with it.
Haha at the central Texas comment. The before is tooth achingly hideous. Anything would be a relief!
Wow, what a great job!
@galval... do you eat beef? I don't agree with wearing fur but if we're going to kill and animal for it's meat we may as well make the most of every single part of it. To simply discard the hide insted of putting it to good use would be even more disrespectful to the animal.
LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!
I was going to say it... but NicNic did. I'm looking at you, <s>hippocrate</s> Slangevar.
Ummm.....no. Nice try but no, thank you.
Love it. Great job- and what insight into rescuing that hideous looking thing!
I love it. I have a dresser & nightstand duo in my guest room in need of an update. Our style in the family-room/guest area southwestern/MCM so this is perfect!
@Slangevar: (A similar epiphany got me to stop buying leather shoes and handbags, but I just love hamburgers too much to stop eating them!)
That is the most blatant and disgusting hypocrisy I have ever heard. I don't even know why you commented. Good lord.
Wow...that took vision! Great job.
@NicNic - you are totally right about that. I don't see how buying something made from faux leather, that will only spend eternity in a landfill after you're finished with it, is better than buying real leather. We already throw away so many parts of the animal already. Being anti-fur/leather and refusing to stop eating meat doesn't really help anything.
That before is beyond horrific. It makes me wonder how some people have absolutely no taste. I can't imagine any scenario where that would be good. The after is much better. Not really my thing, even if I am from Central Texas (thanks for the stereotyping, chesterandtrudy).
The flayed skin is nastier than the sponge paint, hands down. A little serial-killer-esque to me. Sticking bits of corpse to furniture as decoration is gross and weird.
I can see why some like it, but not me.
THERE ARE NO WORDS FOR THE BEFORE
How is a chest of drawers upholstered with leather any different than a leather couch? Is it the hair that is particularly bothersome?
While I think cowhide is quite beautiful on cows, I would not enjoy looking at something so closely reminiscent of a cow, in rectangular form, in my home. It's certainly creative, but creativity does not equate good design. But it's a taste preference. Some people obviously dig it.
Be still my friggin beating heart! I love this piece. I'm not sure why anyone wasted their time to do that original faux finish.
Never been a fan of cow hide but I will say that the after is so much better. I would love to have seen it done in faux cheetah as that is my favorit animal pattern. But I give you kuddos for taking the sad, sad before looking dresser and breathing new life into it. All the negative comments; well, to each their own but you don't need to be mean about it.