Antique Dressers

This is one of several antique dressers that belonged to our great grandparents. It dates back to the early 1900's. I love the style of the dresser with the attached mirror.

The manufactures label is still stapled to the back of the dresser that says KPL Manufacturing Co., not that it means anything. I just find it interesting that the label is still attached after all these years.

The fact that it's always been in the family may have something to do with it. We recently acquired it along with some other vintage pieces for our guest bedroom.

I'm not an antique collector and I really do not know anything about antiques, I just know what I like.

What makes it special is the fact that this dresser, along with other furniture pieces we have, are a part of our family history.

I refinish, refurbish, remake, reuse and anything else you may want to call re-working a piece of furniture, all the time.

I reach the point when I get burned out and take the easy way out until I get in the mood to really dig in again.

This is the point I was at when we acquired this dresser. The dresser had nicks here and there, and the top of the dresser had water marks and some other cosmetic blemishes.

I took the easy way out to improve the appearance of the dresser for now. I disguised the nicks by painting over them with a similar color to the wood.

The top of the dresser I painted one of my favorite colors, apple green.......for me, this color represents, cool, happy, and bright.

I used a crackling technique. I decided I wanted some of the dark wood to pop from under the paint and I found out just recently, it's also a pretty easy technique, just what I was looking for, eazzzzzy!

I cleaned and polished the dresser, and in a very short makeover, it was functional again. The bright green looks great against the dark wood.

Stuff needed:

• Sand Paper or Liquid Sand Paper
• Elmer's Glue
• Paint Brushes
• Paint
• Minwax Clear Polycrylic

How it's done:

Sand top of dresser and wash clean. Sanding is require so the paint will adhere to the dresser top. Apply a thin layer of Elmer's glue over the top of the dresser, let dry until tacky. Paint the top of the dresser with an apple green, I mixed my own paint. Watch the crackling begin. Let dry completely, complete the job with a couple coats of polycrylic to protect and give it a little shine.

Be sure to keep an eye open when visiting flea markets and used furniture stores as they usually have a few antique dressers available.

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