Although this Depression era dresser had good bones, it's worn factory finish did little to enhance the beautiful, varied veneers used to adorn the drawer fronts. After chemically stripping the top and drawer fronts, I carefully sanded the delicate veneers. I stained the two different veneers in American Oak and Java Gel stains to give them a subtle contrast and call attention to the stunning curvy pattern. I stained the dresser top in Java Gel and topped all wood surfaces with my favorite wiping varnish, General Finishes Arm-R-Seal. The frame received a light sanding and two coats of Driftwood gray and a light glaze to highlight the wood embellishments. I finished up with two applications of High Performance top coat on the painted surfaces.
Although I loved the original hardware, when I found the gray ceramic tear-drop pulls I thought they would be the perfect addition to this feminine dresser. I took some contemporary knobs and backplates I had on hand and spray painted them bronze to match the metal components on the tear drop pulls. I used four of these pairs for the top two drawers. I spray painted four additional backplates and added them to the tear drop pulls for the large drawers so all the hardware had a cohesive feel. A pretty pink floral drawer liner completed the look.
