Have you ever caughten a glimpse of a piece of furniture - a buffet, a cabinet, a dresser - and instantly knew it was a special piece? That's how this dresser hit me. Just a glimpse at the lines through the dim picture on Facebook told me it was a Harmony House dresser, made of walnut. I knew at that point - it HAD to be mine. It was on a bidding group on Facebook and I fought HARD for it...and won.
After I brought home this amazing 9 drawer, walnut dresser, I went right to work stripping the wall paint (and white primer I found underneath) off. My hope was to restore it completely - all walnut wood with a rub of Danish oil. The previous owners, however, had made other plans for me. At some point in its life, someone had gotten a little too excited with a sander and burned through the veneer in several spots on the cabinet, and two spots on the front facing drawers. I was devistated. I couldn't bare to cover the entire piece of gorgeous walnut wood up with paint. So, I put the drawers back into the dresser and put it off to the side while I worked on other pieces. All the while, Miss Harmony House mocked me from the corner of the room.
One day while doing one of my favorite activites, scrolling through Pinterest, I came across an inverted striped dresser, done in navy and wood. It was done in a rustic fashion, but it gave me an idea. The two burn spots on the drawers were on one side. Maybe I could cover the past mistakes and still maintain some of the original character of the piece? It was worth a shot!
I wanted to keep the piece light, to highlight the dark walnut. After treating the exposed wood areas with natural Danish oil and letting it dry for a week, I chose Antique White Milk Paint by General Finishes to paint the case and the inverted stripe on the front. I let that dry for another week to ensure the oil was completely dried and applied 2 coats of General Finishes High Performance Top Coat in Satin. The inverted stripe not only hid the imperfections but it brought to life a new character in this Harmony House dresser!
