Furniture Fix Up {Creative Chick Parade}

Welcome to Furniture Fix Up blog hop day at the Creative Chick Parade!  We’ll be back next week with our regular We Did It! Wednesday party.  Today’s blog hop will definitely be my favorite of the week, as I LOVE to see all of your before and after furniture projects. 

Although I’ve (let’s be honest, I mean Joel and I) done my first few fix ups in the past year (you can see them here, here, and here), I’m most excited about my next one.  My husband is not.  He seems to find an excuse to NOT get started on it every time I bring it up.  Maybe it has something to do with the fact that he’ll be doing all the lifting, restoring, and basically any other hard work associated with  the project. 

Here it is:

We bought this dresser and mirror off of KSL for $50.  We haven’t been able to figure out exactly how old it is, but the lady we bought it from said it had been her grandmother’s, and they thought it was somewhere either pre- or early 1900s.
The carving and details are amazing…
And the workmanship is something inspiring all on its own.  I love imagining an antique piece actually being built, 100 years ago, by someone’s own two hands.  Wouldn’t it be fun to always know the whole history of your furniture?  Where it came from, the different places it’s been, especially the people who owned it at one time or another?
The thing that’s been holding me back is making a decision on what to actually do to the thing!  My initial feeling is to paint it an antique white or cream, and then distress it lightly as usual.  But then I start wondering if I should do a glaze too (which I haven’t done before, so maybe this isn’t the best piece to practice on?)?  Joel wants to keep the finish that’s on it now, but to be honest, I don’t love it that way.  And I think it’s just because he’s dreading painting it. 

What do you think about the drawer pulls?  On one hand I’d like to keep them to keep some of the antique-ness, but at the same time I can’t say that I LOVE to look at them, so maybe I should get some crystal knobs instead? Maybe a combination of both?

It does freak me out to think of changing such an old piece of furniture (not that it’s freaked me out in the past, maybe this is worse because it’s so big), but at the same time if I’m going to keep it in my bedroom, it should be something that I love, and that makes me happy to look at, right?

Okay, so before you get linking, here’s the question:  How would you refinish or paint it?  I’d love to hear ALL of your thoughts, and I promise I’m not just saying that.  The last time we were talking about it, I even told Joel, “well, I’m going to ask my readers, cause I know that they’ll give me the best ideas.  They know what would be best.”  Seriously, I really said that!  The craziest part is that he seemed to agree with me!  Hehe, I guess he thinks you’re all cool (or at least cooler than me!) too :).

Make sure to take a minute and check out my fellow Creative Chick Paraders too, some of them are doing giveaways and other fun things that you won’t want to miss!  Here they all are:

Okay, remember that any link you post here should be related to the Furniture Fix Up theme, and it will show up on all the other blogs above as well!
Ready, set, go!

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24 Comments

  1. I am so jealous you got that for $50.00! I would go white with it. I must say I am a sucker for white furniture. I know white is all the rage, but it has been and probably always will be my favorite. Most of the furniture that I LOVE in my home happens to be white. I’m even pondering painting my kitchen cabinets white!

  2. i grew up in a home full of antiques, and your piece is gorgeous. i really feel sad to think of it painted… but you should do what you would enjoy most.

  3. I am just jealous of that piece! Fifty bucks was a steal! It is beautiful the way it is, but I would probably paint it white, distress and glaze. I’d decide about the knobs after I paint it. You might decide you like those knobs.

  4. I would leave it the way it is. It is beautiful. For sure keep the hardware! If you don’t want it I will but it from you :)

  5. I would leave it as is, the piece is simply beautiful with it’s original finish! You could always add some vintage and distressed accesories to it to still give it the weather worn look.

  6. I’ll have to agree with post #2,Angela. The fact that it appears to be in such decent shape is what sways me – if it was in type of major dis-repair I’d go at it with a bucket of paint, though

  7. What an AWESOME deal! I really like the natural look of it.

    Thanks for hosting this collection of fun link parties. I linked a bunch of ideas, and hope that was ok. Now I am going to browse through these other fun blogs!

  8. Oh, I always struggle with this! I always buy things planning to paint them, and then chicken out because the wood is in good shape, or the piece is expensive or valuable, or whatever. I envy the people who can just go ahead and paint! The only thing I have been telling myself lately is that I love white painted furniture and I like real wood furniture, not MDF, so I should just get over it and PAINT already. Otherwise I’m going to have a house full of things I don’t like — wood tone and puckyboard!
    ~Angela :-)

  9. That is a gorgeous piece of furniture. Such beautiful wood. Maybe you would like it better if you just replaced or polished the pulls?

    I know painted furniture is “in” but I always think that the paint is hiding cheap or damaged wood.

    Personally, I would keep it as is, because the value is ruined by refinishing or painting an antique. But do what makes you happy!

  10. I would keep it, but I love wood…that is an awesome find Abby!! You should do what you like, though because you have to look at it. I have a friend that has a vintage furniture blog and she has done some really beautiful things with paint and distressing. Good-luck.

  11. I’m also in the leave-it-as-it-is camp. The wood appears to be in great shape! Maybe a tinted polish would glam it up a little? Also, if you don’t want it in your bedroom, I could see this as a stand alone piece in another room like the dining room. I bet you could also sell it for great profit!

  12. Ack! Leave it as it is! When this fad of painting furniture is over you’ll have ruined a BEAUTIFUL piece for nothing! It will never be the same! If you don’t want it, I’ll buy it off of you! :)

  13. That piece is gorgeous and I can’t help but think it would be a sin to cover it up with paint and change the knobs!

  14. $50 is a steal for that gorgeous piece! Love all the detail. Especially those handles!!! Even the mirror looks in good shape- usually they have black spots all over them. (Antique dealers have told me never to replace mirrors- even if they are damaged). In my humble opinion, I agree with a lot of other posters that it is in such good shape that it may be a sin to paint it. I like the idea of mixing wooden furniture with painted furniture in a room. This piece is worth keeping as is! Rather paint pieces where the wood is damaged or not good quality.

  15. it’s in great shape, why cover that up with paint? I think all it really needs is a bit of wood polish :) Such a gorgeous piece!

  16. Hey Abby. That piece of furniture is beautiful. I would be too nervous to paint it…unless you placed it in it’s rightful spot in your home and it wasn’t working, then I guess paint away. But I would not change up the pulls. THe pulls are great.

  17. You scored! that’s an amazing piece of furniture. I agree, don’t paint it. I’ll buy it off you if you want. SLC is close to me. I’ll help find you something that is better to paint. I’m a painter too. I’ve painted a lot of furniture, but this is pristine. Don’t paint it. Please.

  18. Don’t paint it!!! It’s a gorgeous piece with a beautiful finish–lovely and warm. I can’t believe what a deal you got on it!

  19. I’m with Joel…leave as is. A great piece of solid wood furniture like this one never goes out of style! Painted wood furniture does.

  20. i think you should paint it white (a white with a bit of grey in it) and lightly distress it. i would keep the handles on this one, i think.

    thats what i would do! good luck convincing joel! or just remember, andy has NEVER helped me with any furniture redoing or moving (i have moves some pretty large peices up stairs myself, while pregnant) for the most part, YOU can do it!!! then it doesn’t matter what he thinks! besides, if he see’s you tying to do it, maybe he’ll feel sorry for you or think you are doing it wrong and just take over without you even asking.

  21. one more thing, maybe check out what it would be worth at an antique shop before painting.
    don’t be nervous to paint wood, its just wood. if you willl like it better painted then paint it, you’re not losing anything if you don’t like the finish anyway!

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