When life deals you a sponge painted dresser there's only one thing to do — anything! This dresser was a hot mess before it received a beautiful makeover with a rather unusual material. Moo-ve over sponge painting it's
Over at The V Spot, Vivienne has recently been hard at work on this drastic dresser makeover. She found this beauty of a dresser on Craigslist for $25 and was able to look past it's past paint job. After a few weeks of tracking down cow hide on the internet she had enough to cover the drawers and set to work.
The transformation is dramatic and might not be for some, but it really goes to show that you really can make something out of nothing. This is a great way to incorporate hide into your home for those that love the look but aren't too into the price that rugs usually have attached to them. Plus, there's no worry about pets ruining things. Check out the full transformation over at The V Spot.
(Image: The V Spot)
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OMG, this is really amazing. Restoration, move over! make way for Vivienne!
This is amazing. Upgrade!
.... meant Restoration Hardware....
Wow, this is stunning! Great job guys!
this is SO NICE !!
not my taste but you did a great job!
If you just described that to me, I would think it was hideous. But it looks good! Great job!
Oh my! At first all I saw was the Before (and I didn't see it said "before", because I'm awesome at reading like that) and my eyes about bugged out of my head. The after looks great!
Looks amazing!!!!!!
So. Cool. :)
So dope. I have a cowhide rug that I no longer use but couldnt bare to part with (I thought one day it would be an ottoman cover or pillow) but this might be my first spring project...on an end table. sweet.
Amazing!
Wow! Thank you for the feature and the nice write up. You made my day!
Not a fan of cowhide, but this is a great transformation nonetheless, and very well done! I would never have thought you could turn that monstrosity into something so elegant looking.
ha! truly brilliant!
Fabulous!
So much better than before, and I like that this is different than the normal 'look, I painted chevron' dresser makeovers.
I've never seen anything like this. How creative and inspiring.
Now that is one beautiful dresser drawer.
Wow that is just great, so different too.
OMG. That is BEYOND awesome!! A-MI-NAL! A-MI-NAL! lol Love it!
LOVING that poster hung behind it... anyone have a resource for that? ;)
Amazing! Perfect!
awesome, love the tacks, too.
Hi NativeNuYamkah,
I made the painting behind the dresser. It's my more colorful version of subway art. I take custom orders but also have a tutorial on my blog.
Superb!
WOW! You did a fantastic job. It is stunning now!
One of my favorite transformations so far. No comments from the thou-shalt-not-alter-wood brigade. I guess if it's already painted, or if it's not MCM, nobody cares. ;-)
The original was SO much nicer!
I kid! I kid! Amazing make-over.
Not a cowhide fan, but an amazing transformation. Kudos; truly impressive work!
Very nice makeover. I think that's the most heinous before I've ever seen!!
The previous owner must have been a hunter.
I wouldn't want cowhide, either, but it's an amazing makeover, and might work as well using a non-animal covering with the tacks, like beautiful fabric or burl veneer or something. So inspiring, even for the non-hide crowd!
that might be the worst before I have EVER seen!!! The after is amazing. Great job!!
Wow! truly fresh and original!
Not a fan of cowhide either, but this is one remarkable transformation!! Very "Restoration Hardware" as has been noted. Very classy/funky. I would like to know what you did to the surrounding wood. Is that paint? Did you really take the time and effort to strip that hideous sponged on mess? How did you smooth the surface and also how did you achieve that nice patina it now has?
You can click on the link to my blog post. I give a general tutorial on how I did it.
Absolutely fantastic! The 'before' had an army fatique thing going on....
nice
Wonderful transformation! What a difference you made in this piece! Congrats on a job well done! :D
This is amazing!
Who knew that a chest of drawers covered with cowhide could look so damn classy? I echo all of the cheers.
But Damart, two things: one, it's silly to be frightened by pieces of furniture, and two, the tilde key should only be used by professionals.
Am I the only one that thinks it's a little strange when someone paints or wallpapers over wood it results in huge outcries and outpouring of emotion, but when someone uses real animal hide almost no one bats an eye? (except, of course, to make fun of the one person who did say something).
In any case, I do admit that the difference between the before & after is amazing, and I think I especially love that the idea for it was so creative! I know it would never have occurred to me to use anything other than paint, or wallpaper, or any of the other normal materials. Not exactly to my taste, but definitely a really great job!
The old cabinet become very zeitgeisty. Even this is not my style, i take up my hat for the project. It really needs a lot of creativity and in the end surely hours and hours to achieve the result. 5 stars from me for the idea and the transformation!
My favorite part of the entire makeover: the fact that Vivienne has a tutorial on her blog, so we can imagine ourselves creating some of our own awesomeness.
The make-over is just stunning. I'm so impressed.
Quite cool. I am a reluctant cowhide fan, but I don't find it comfortable on the skin, which rules out my ever getting a rug. I'd be very surprised if this were really catproof, though, as my friends' cat claws even their solid wood furniture. Hopefully it's just a theoretical supposition...
One man's amazing upgrade is another man's hot mess. This is definitely not for everyone, but it's very well-done. Hats off to the maker for not being afraid of something quirky and bold! And I don't mean that as a euphemism for ugly. Not my style but still cool.
Wow-a! def most dramatic Before/After I've seen in along time!!! great job!
Love the nailheads
Not my style but I can't express how impressed I am! Fantastic makeover!
Ya know... the comments here about using animal hide are so strange. They complain about using the fur of an animal that is butchered for it's meat as if this is a mink or something. I'd rather see cow hide being used than anything else because the fact is, those animals are going to be slaughtered... at least the hide isn't being tossed in the trash. It would be more offensive if the hide wasn't being used.
Chiming in to say that for me, what is most amazing about this dresser makeover is not that animal hide skin was used in a unique way, but that the owner actually took time and stripped and/or sanded all that horrid paint away and now the gorgeous wood is showing again. The other recent dresser makeover that wasn't received so well covers a perfectly fine walnut wood dresser with wallpaper and another kind of wood veneer. To me, there is a huge difference between the two and this one is loads better.