An Antique Empire Secretary in Cream

I love this piece SOOOOO much! I really do wish I had a spot for it in my house, but alas, every single spot has at least one if not several painted pieces of furniture shoe horned into it. In all the years I've been refinishing furniture I've never had the chance to work on an empire secretary. Funny enough, this past weekend I saw the twin to this piece in an antique shop for $1200. But it had lived a better life and was immaculate. This beast? It had been 'barned', which is almost as permanent and deadly a fate for a piece of furniture as being burned. Yes, this empire secretary had surely been living in a barn for some time, and those punishing years had left their mark. The felt on the interior of the lid was GROSS, the surfaces were marked, scratched, chipped and worn. One of the drawers needed to be repaired, and I filled seven thousand spots of missing veneer. But now, Oho! She's perfect, and I daresay far prettier than her fancy schmancy $1200 twin!