I know it’s kind of silly, but I actually purchased this dresser because of its mirror.
I wanted to try an idea I had for the mirror frame and you all saw the results back before Christmas, the farm fresh chalkboard.
That still left the dresser. It’s just a simple little Eastlake style chest of drawers.
I decided to strip the top and give it a rustic waxed finish, and then paint the rest. Originally I was thinking white, but when I started to dig through my paint I remembered that Homestead House had sent me some of their milk paint in a color called Bedford.
I’d used their Fusion paint in the same color and I knew it was a lovely warm ‘greige’ so I decided it might just be perfect for this dresser. Some of my photos wash this color out a bit, but this next one comes closest to representing the color well, although I still think the color a just a bit richer in person.
I used Miss Mustard Seed’s Grain Sack to pop the carved details down either side of the drawers.
You may not have noticed in the before photo, but this dresser was missing one complete handle and part of another. The amazing thing is that I had two matching handles in my stash of misfit hardware. What were the chances?
I hadn’t waxed the wood top before painting the dresser and once I had the Bedford paint on it I felt like the top had a reddish brown cast to it. I didn’t love the way it was pairing up with the Bedford so I decided to try a tip I’d just read about in Miss Mustard Seed’s ‘lookbook two’. Mixing waxes.
I mixed the Homestead House white and black waxes to create a grey wax. It worked beautifully on the top of this dresser giving the wood a weathered look with a hint of grey.
I love how it turned out, it has a sort of driftwood look.
This ended up being such a pretty, yet neutral, look.
What do you think?
I’m going to go with ‘definite improvement’.
This lovely dresser is for sale. Be sure to check my ‘available for local sale’ tab for more info.
q is for quandie 
Wow Quandie this may be my fave so far. Am loving the greige and really love the gray wax finish in the top. Glad I don’t live near or I’d have more furniture than house! This one won’t last long I predict.
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Fingers crossed 😉
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I don’t think it was silly at all. I’ve bought furniture for the hardware!
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It’s hard to resist a dresser that is $20 but has $25 worth of glass knobs on it, right?!
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Gorgeous! Absolutely love the staging on this piece. That window is amazing and love the piano scroll behind it.
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Thanks Becky. I picked up that window at a garage sale last summer for $3! At first it languished in the back of the carriage house, but I pulled it out just before Christmas and hung it on the wall and then wondered what took me so long!
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Stunning update. Love the colors, the wood top with the ‘driftwood’ finish. The staging is perfect. Thanks for the inspiration
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Thanks Laura! I really love this color too. It’s one of those chameleon sort of colors that can look more grey or more beige depending on the light.
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Love how you used every single piece of the set in such a new and innovative way. The chalkboard made me turn around and look at the boxspring hanging on my wall —and say “YOU need one of Linda’s chalkboards!” I would also move that chest and mirror set into my house in a New York minute. Congrats on a great makeover! Susie from The Chelsea Project
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Thanks Susie! I was really happy to find a new way to use those mirror frames. I’ve been removing them from dressers for a few years now and they needed a new purpose.
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Absolute perfection! I’m so glad you had the matching hardware on hand. Love the whole piece!
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I have a lot of misfit hardware and every now and then I think I should just get rid of it, but then this happens, so you never know. This particular style of drawer pull must have been fairly common in its day.
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That dresser came out really nice. I like the colors.
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Thanks sis. It would be perfect in a ‘log cabin’ style room, wouldn’t it?
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Stunning transformation!! Love it
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Thanks Wendy!
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Love this Linda but finish on the top is really fab with the paint color on the body. I really like how you are using a subtle contrast paint to highlight. Nice!
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I have done a few pieces with that subtle contrast lately, I do like how it makes those details stand out without being obnoxious.
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Hej Linda! What a nice dresser you paint-made again! It looks ,somehow, very “nordic”- maybe colours, maybe styling…And this wax-mix top is perfect. Great idea and inspiration to use one day. And …Happy and colourful 2017. Greetings from Denmark
Joanna
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That’s an awesome compliment since I love the “nordic” style! Thanks Joanna!
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Love it! Turned out so beautifully…and that window…
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That window is a bit cracked and chippy, but that’s the way we like ’em, right?
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Yes, love the finish on the top. Looks great with the paint color and like Linda said……that window…..fabulous. Love it.
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Thanks Sheila! I imagine you’ll see me doing more of the grey wax finish, it really is nice. I think it would also work well on a white piece.
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Really love when your hubby adds the shelves to the bottom of the frames. I have a chalkboard that I added a metal spice rack with hooks to years ago, but the shelves your hubby does are so much more functional. Going to have to sweet talk my husband into powering up his saw! As for the aqua colored chalkboard…I’m mediocre about it.
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Actually Ken is not my hubby, he’s my neighbor. He’s retired and likes having small projects to keep him busy. He does all of my furniture repair, and also has done several home improvement projects in my house like our pantry. My husband, Mr. Q, is not quite so fond of handyman projects. Not a fan of the aqua huh?
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This is beautiful, as always 🙂 Did you do anything to the top before applying the wax? Or just lay it right on the original wood finish?
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I stripped the original finish off the top, then sanded and applied the wax. Thanks for asking Melanie!
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Where did you get the cotton wreath from?
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I bought a cotton swag at Stillwater Farm Store (on Main Street) and then I just formed it into a wreath. I saw a few wreaths for sale at various locations before Christmas, but they all had glitter added to them. I wanted plain, natural looking cotton. So when I found it in swag form I figured I could turn it into a wreath. Sure enough, it made a perfect wreath!
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