an ounce of prevention.

Published on by Quandie

Today’s piece is another one that I got from my friend Annie.  When she and her husband moved back to Minnesota recently, they had some excess furniture including this linen press dresser.

As you may be able to tell from that photo, this piece was subjected to a poor paint job.  It was drippy in spots, and lumpy in others, but worst of all it was a bleeder.  Over time either the previous dark stain or tannins in the wood have bled through the white paint causing all of that yellowing that you see.

So this piece required a bit of extra work in the prep phase.  I started out by stripping the two front legs using CitriStrip.  The paint job on them was particularly bad, peeling in spots, really thick in some spots, and barely covering in others.  I felt like the best option was to strip it off entirely.  Plus, they are such pretty turned legs I thought it would be fun to go with the bare leg look.

After stripping the paint, I sanded them well and then finished them with Dixie Belle’s brown wax.

Next up, I did the same with the inner drawers.

Stripped, cleaned, sanded, waxed in brown.

I cleaned up the insides of the drawers while I was at it.  I sanded them lightly, then gave them a coat of Dixie Belle’s Big Mama’s Butta in the Orange Grove scent.  Now they look great, plus they smell nice and citrusy.

For the outer shell, I prepped by sanding vigorously first with 120 grit sandpaper and my orbital sander, and then following that up with 220 grit.  My goal wasn’t to remove all of the paint, but to smooth it out.  I didn’t get it perfect, but I was going for ‘good enough’.  After cleaning away all of the dust, I gave the piece a coat of Dixie Belle’s B.O.S.S.

As it says right there in the name, it stops bleed thru.  I prefer using the clear version (it also comes in white), especially when using a dark paint color.  You may think that you don’t need a stain blocker if you’re using a dark paint, but that’s not really true.  Dark paint may help disguise the look of bleed thru, but it will still be there.  It can show up as a slight variation in the color, or sometimes the sheen, that you only see at certain angles.  Still, as they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Which brings me the paint color I chose for this one, Dixie Belle’s Collard Greens.

I love this dark gray green.  It looks different depending on the light, sometimes looking more green, other times looking more gray.  It was just what I wanted as a background for the I.O.D. Midnight Garden transfer.  I’d ordered this transfer on a whim a while back and it ended up being the perfect width for this linen press.

I opted not to put the existing hardware back on this dresser.  I didn’t love it, and I didn’t love the placement of the knobs with those on the top drawer not aligned with those on the bottom drawer.  I had filled all of the holes with Dixie Belle’s Mud before I painted, so once the paint was dry and the transfer was applied to that lower drawer, I measured and drilled new holes for some simple wooden knobs that I had in my stash.

I definitely prefer this more aligned arrangement over the original placement of the knobs, how about you?

I used Dixie Belle’s Easy Peasy spray wax to topcoat the Collard Greens and transfer.

I staged this one simply with some of my favorites; an old family photo, my brass bird cage, an ironstone pitcher and a Bakelite clock.

I like to think I improved this one a tad, what do you think?

This linen press dresser is for sale.  Be sure to check my ‘available for local sale‘ page if interested in more details.

Thank you to Dixie Belle Paint Co for providing the B.O.S.S., paint, Big Mama’s Butta, brown wax and Easy Peasy spray wax used on this piece.

30 thoughts on “an ounce of prevention.”

  2. Wow – what a huge improvement! I love this transfer on this color – how the background flowers are kind of shadowy. And I agree that your placement of the knobs is much better!

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  3. Hi Linda! I love Collard greens. Such a pretty color! I used this transfer on a old two panes window and it sold in 1 day. Thank you for sharing your creations with us and giving us so much Inspiration.

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  4. Definitely an improvement! And personally, I am thrilled to see more color, rather than whites and neutral tones! This came out beautiful!!

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    1. I’m always hesitant about using a color because you never know how that is going to sell. Hopefully someone will have just the right spot for this one, fingers crossed.

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    1. Wow…this is totally cool! Love the color and the flowers are gorgeous! The knob placement is much more pleasing to the eye. A 10 out of 10!

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  11. Oh my gosh! I love it. The color and the transfer! The knobs you used are so much better. The ones on the doors looked lopsided and the bottom drawer looked too far apart! Beautiful job! The color is on my list!

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    1. No, I have not tried that product. However, a little research online led me to an article from thriftdiving.com that claims the Blue Bear Soy Gel (one of the products in that line) contains a chemical called N-Methyl-2-Pyrrolidone and for that reason many stores won’t carry it. I want to be sure and note here that I don’t know anything about this product, or that chemical, and have never tried it, but if you’re considering using it just do some research first and make sure you are taking proper safety precautions.

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  14. You used lots of elbow grease on this one Miss Quandie! I like this Collard Greens color and I love the contrast you got with the dark waxing on the legs and drawers. And knobs! I think the original hardware is pretty so now you have them to use on a future project……..I see that there’s a “Sale Pending” on the chest so………fingers crossed! 🤞

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    1. Thanks Connie! Yep, fingers crossed. I have someone scheduled to see it on Saturday, and another person on the waiting list if they don’t take it. So hopefully it will go this weekend!

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