Monday, November 12, 2007

Day 10.2 The Dresser

(I have to confess some impatience with this post, aren't we supposed to be done all this already? This is so yesterday. But I did just get a batch of photos developed and the story has not yet been told....)

A long, long time ago, back around the time of the Big Bang (if the Big Bang even happened), this dresser was primed. Primed and ready, it sat and waited. A child was born. It waited. Clothes entered and exited, and it waited. It waited a long time.


You see, it was a motley dresser. Part of its mahogany veneer had fallen off. The primer had been applied without respect for it's unique hybrid condition. After a few years, the primer started to chip off of the remaining veneered parts. And still it waited.

Finally, something was done.
But it was a disaster.
The problem was the veneer. Once genteel and handsome, (if a bit shabby) great chunks of it had detached itself during the prep from merely primed to fully painted. But other bits seemed to be glued like hydrogen is to two oxygens. Now noticeably disfigured, it needed to be disguised and camouflaged. And indeed it was. But "gray barnboard" wouldn't do.
Vinegar was added to hot, hot water, and lo, more veneer came off--as well as half the horrid paint job. And once sanded, almost no veneer remained.
Once primed, twice painted and subjected to two coats of semi-gloss varnish, beauty was restored.

Shiny and happy, now it stands ready to receive both those clothes which pass the brutal Wardrobe Therapy tests and those perfect ones yet to be found.
It is waiting, again.

8 comments :

sarah said...

you did a really nice job on the dresser.

Alana in Canada said...

Thanks!

drwende said...

Whoa! The transformation is startling! HUGE improvement.

Colleen said...

fabulous dresser! I love the lines of that piece, and the new paint job is excellent. job well done!

Mella DP said...

Yay, looks great!

scb said...

Yes, the dresser looks wonderful -- and the clothes that go in it will, too. BUT, what nobody else has said, and what really needs to be said, is what a fantastic job you did writing this post! I enjoyed reading it so much!

Alana in Canada said...

Whew. I wondered if I'd pulled off my approach to writing it. "See, look what I did" can get just ho hum after this long, long while!
Thank you.

zooza said...

Your patience in getting that veneer off astounds me. I would have just given up! It looks fabulous now, though. Very elegant!

And now to fill it with fabulous clothes...

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