Meet Antoinette January 31, 2012 DIY, Furniture Makeovers, LCH Interiors 7 Comments 8258 A friend of my brother’s was generous enough to donate this piece of furniture she was no longer using to the LCH Interiors cause. It had some water marks on the top and the dark lacquer finish was seriously dating this otherwise perfectly nice and functional vanity. Upon further investigation, I discovered that it is a Drexel Heritage piece made from solid Mahogany. Oh jackpot. I think I heard the angels singing. I knew with some elbow grease and paint, I could update the piece to give it a timeless, classic feel that would work in any room. I started by completely stripping the top with 80 grit sandpaper, followed by 120 then 400. The natural mahogany was GORGEOUS. I don’t think I’d ever worked with anything this nice. As much as I’m going to get some flack for painting the rest of this piece, I would have needed a sandblaster room to strip the finish completely off the whole thing. So I decided to paint the bottom half and refinish the top. Besides being a more practical choice, the paint also lends itself to the more modern feel I was going for. I painted the drawers in SW Worldly Gray and the rest of the piece in SW Dovetail Gray. Yes, I’m recycling colors (also seen on Beatrice and William). Those quarts go far! It took 3 coats to cover the old red stain completely. Oh, and I didn’t prime- in fact, I almost never prime anymore. Light sanding, 3 thin coats, and wax hold up very well on their own. I applied Teak Oil to the top to bring out the natural hues. After letting the Teak Oil cure for 48 hours, I applied 3 coats of Minwax Natural Paste Wax. On the bottom half, I sanded the edges of the drawers to bring out the detail. I was careful to not take it over the edge- think Pottery Barn rather than Shabby Chic. The original hardware (although not my usual taste) was a perfect fit for the new color and style. All I did was wash it with soap and water and re-install it. I didn’t use any glaze on this piece, wax was enough to bring out the beautiful tone of the mahogany on the edges. Here are some shots from my booth, sorry about the quality. There’s no natural light in there, and I’m not an expert at compensating. I think Antoinette turned out beautifully! Hopefully she will have a new home soon 🙂 7 Responses marilyn January 31, 2012 OMG…this is BEAUTIFUL!!! You have a wonderful eye for revitalizing furniture! You are an inspiration to all of us! Reply Fifi@AboutbloggingTime! January 31, 2012 This is fabulous!!! You did an amazing job!! Can i have it? lol!! Just thought I’d ask!! You have a great week!! Reply Sandy January 31, 2012 WOW! She’s AMAZING! You did a phenomenal job on her! I know she’ll sell quickly! Reply rachaelevans January 31, 2012 Thank you so much Sandy! Reply Kassi @ Truly Lovely January 31, 2012 You are getting so good at this! She’s just beautiful!!! Reply Renee Cook January 31, 2012 WOW ! she is BEAUTIFUL! You rock Rachel ! Reply rachaelevans January 31, 2012 Thanks Renee! Reply Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. CAPTCHA Code * Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. Check here to Subscribe to notifications for new posts
marilyn January 31, 2012 OMG…this is BEAUTIFUL!!! You have a wonderful eye for revitalizing furniture! You are an inspiration to all of us! Reply
Fifi@AboutbloggingTime! January 31, 2012 This is fabulous!!! You did an amazing job!! Can i have it? lol!! Just thought I’d ask!! You have a great week!! Reply
Sandy January 31, 2012 WOW! She’s AMAZING! You did a phenomenal job on her! I know she’ll sell quickly! Reply