A Maple Chest in Black and Gold

Sometimes things work out so nicely and neatly that one must pause a moment and wonder if it's all just the mad turmoil of causality, or if perhaps, every now and then, there's something more purposeful guiding our fates.... Which is almost certainly too heavy a consideration to lay entirely on this little vintage solid maple chest made by the Hale company c.1965.

       Wednesday morning I spotted the most magnificent antique chest of drawers, posted by antiques dealer firm Doe and Hope of England, on their twitter feed. I believe I choked on my coffee a little bit, it was just that damn lovely. Mere moments after pinning the image to my furniture inspiration pinterest board I recalled that I was to pick up, that very evening, a fabulous little vintage cupboard that would lend itself perfectly to recreating the look of the antique one. I've been wanting to try my hand at more decorative painting on furniture, and this seemed a most excellent coincidence.

         The solid maple chest was in flawless condition, giving me free reign to concentrate on surface and decoration. I mixed a deep deeeeeeeep charcoal, almost black, with the teensiest hint of midnight blue, and sanded, stained, and sealed the top. For contrast I painted the interior and drawers in fresh linen white. And then I took a step back and stared at the cupboard for a long time trying to work up the courage to drop my big furniture paint brush and grab the detail brush. After three false starts I finally figured out a design that pleased me and went from there. The drawer pulls are antique, re-colored in a bright gold.