A Vintage Tall Dresser in Limelight Hydrangea

I adore this piece, not least because it's in one my favorite colors, a pale green that's just a smidge brighter than sage. It's one of those gorgeous colors you find popping up in Autumn when the leaves start to change. It's also the color my limelight hydrangea turns as it dries on the stem. I picked the piece up at the Glastonbury Goodwill, always a fabulous source for nice vintage furniture, and set to work on it right away. I sanded the top and was delighted to find that it has contrasting wood, fruitwood and mahogany for a dramatic two tone effect that was fully hidden under the old faded surface. I kept the original drawer pulls because they're pretty and the brass had oxidized to a lovely shade of verdigris.

From Side of the Road to Stunner

First and foremost, we have the BEST mailman. He knows I'm a furniture refinisher and keeps an eye out for pieces on the side of the road during his rounds. Yesterday he tipped me off to an antique dresser free by a house a few streets away. I zipped right over, perhaps a little incredulous, since free stuff is usually pretty junky. Certainly not the case with this gorgeous piece. Admittedly it needed work. At some point it had been poorly refinished, with a thick marine varnish on the top and irregularly spread on the sides and drawer fronts. It took forever to sand, but finally I got down to the flawless walnut of the top. I stained it dark dark to contrast with the rich dove gray I planned to use on the case. Before I could paint it I had to re-glue several of the drawers that had let go and, amusingly, been scotch taped back together. Once I had the piece back on the structural straight and narrow I painted it a custom mixed gray called 'Mourning Dove'. I swapped the mismatched pulls out for octagonal cut glass pulls, and then highlighted some of the great detail work in a creamy white. I distressed the painted surfaces and sealed them with dark wax. Not bad for a 24 hour turn around if I don't say so myself!

A Vintage Solid Oak Dining Set

Another custom project for a client this week, this one a gorgeous vintage butcher block oak pedestal dining table with four matching solid oak Windsor chairs. The client selected a soft antique white for the table base and chairs, and I sanded, stained, and sealed the chair seats and table tops in Minwax English Chestnut and high gloss oil based polyurethane.

A Vintage Cupboard in Buttercream Yellow

I adore this piece. It's so simple and sophisticated with classic Shaker inspired lines and lovely construction. It's solid rock maple throughout, made by the Cushman Furniture Company around 1960. I refinished it custom for a client in a rich dark honey for the top, a buttercream yellow for the exterior and fresh white for the interior.

An Antique Mahogany Tall Chest in Deep Tan

I got this beautiful antique mahogany tall dresser with a matching vanity on Sunday. I absolutely adore it from the gently curving french feet all the way up to the handsome close cropped top of flawless figured mahogany. I painted the case in a warm custom tan called 'Butterscotch Taffy' and then highlighted all the trim work in Benjamin Moore's Battenberg.

A Mahogany Vanity in Deep Blue

I purchased this fantastic antique mahogany vanity and matching tall chest from a lovely friend on Sunday. They're so spectacular that I simply couldn't wait to get started on them. I knew as soon as I saw both pieces what color I wanted to paint them.
        I custom mixed this shade, 'Deep End' to be a stormy, dare I say ominous color to balance the restrained Grecian inspired lines of the piece. It's Federal in form but second period c.1920-1945, and absolutely flawless. I picked out all the fantastic molding detail with a paler blue, liberally distressed, and sealed with a dark wax. I sanded, stained, and sealed the spectacular figured mahogany veneer top, which is without scratch or ding. Almost one hundred years and the top is flawlesssss. I kept the original oval stamped brass pulls because they compliment the piece perfectly.

An Antique Server in Cream

Oh I just adore this piece. It was brought to me by a client from Rhode Island to refinish. It had belonged to her grandmother, but she wanted to give it a fresh look to fit better with her own style. I'm guessing the server was made right around 1930-1940, especially since I found a pencil inscription on the bottom of one of the small drawers dated 1939.
        We selected a pale cream, Benjamin Moore's Battenberg, and went with a dark almost ebony top to contrast with it. Finally she choose glass knobs, larger for the large drawer, and petite ones for the top drawers. I'm so pleased with how this turned out. So pretty!!