Thursday, January 31, 2013

White Paint Makeover: Vintage Kitchen Dresser

I was asked by a lovely local lady to paint her old kitchen dresser. This poor piece of furniture had a long and colourful history. My client had owned it for about 20 years and before that her flatmate had owned it and he'd found it on the side of the road. It was pretty dirty and beat up and definitely needed some white paint love.

LIlyfield Life Painted furniture White Kitchen Dresser

The white home made chalk paint and waxed top coat has made the cabinet look so fresh and revived. I talked my client into doing a contrasting colour on the inside of the cupboards and we selected a lovely soft French grey. The hutch definitely needed some distressing as it was such an old piece and there were dings and broken wood along the doors so it would never look good painted perfect white. I love how it looks and it really added some interest to this Depression Era piece.

LIlyfield Life Painted furniture White Kitchen Dresser

I didn't end up putting on all the hardware as my client had replaced the original brass hardware and some of the new pieces weren't right so my client's husband sorted that out once they picked up the hutch. 

LIlyfield Life Painted furniture White Kitchen Dresser

and here is the before shot. It doesn't actually look too bad in this photo but it definitely looks better now and my client was so happy with the white paint make over. The dresser sits in her dining room which is relatively dark but now the whole room looks different with this piece painted.

LIlyfield Life Painted furniture White Kitchen Dresser

I am always quite nervous when I paint someone else's furniture -it's very different to painting something to sell. Thankfully my client was extremely delighted in my work on this kitchen dresser and she said that these photos didn't actually do the piece justice so that was great feedback.

I actually have another vintage kitchen dresser to show you soon but the next one won't be getting painted.

yours in all things white paint

16 comments:

  1. what a pretty cabinet! i love the crisp distressed white!

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  2. this piece looks amazing now, I'm a big fan of the soft frnch grey with white. I would be extremely happy if I were the client.
    Bec x

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  3. looks great Fiona...another fan of soft great and white here too ;)

    the distressing is very chippy like milk paint (well what I have seen milk paint chips looks like anyway). Glad the client is happy, I always feel sick with nerves before client pickup time, lol!

    xx karen

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  4. I'm sure they are very happy. It looks beautiful
    Alison

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  5. it looks beautiful - you were right to choose the grey interior - it just adds that something special. and I love your distressing -so chippy!
    no wonder your client was happy.
    Jodie xx

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  6. Just beautiful Fiona! I love this piece, and those shelves at the top are gorgeous! Love that you painted the inside a different colour.

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  7. another divine piece from a talented gal. I love your work and your blog. It's good to see you back with a paint brush in your creative hands.
    xx K

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  8. Hi Fiona....the finished piece looks beautifull...very envious of your customer. I can't tell how many junk piles I have driven past trying to get my DH to pick up some of the items that I have spotted. The penny finally clicked about 2 months ago and now he is picking up things for me...very HAPPY.
    I know the USA girls mostly use Minwax....I havent been able to find it in Australia. I would love to know what wax you use.
    I did a dining suite for a customer and she wanted it waxed, something I dont normally do. The wax I used was terrible and almost cost me the job.
    I have been following you for a while and I love your work.
    :-) Shelley

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    1. hi Shelley, thanks for that. glad you like the blog. When the Americans talk about Minwax - they are usually talking about a wipe on poly or varnish not an actual wax. see http://www.minwax.com/
      Have you checked out Miss Mustard Seed's wax guide. A lot of those products we can get in Australia also. I use a variety of waxes for different finishes (and what i have on hand) and will do a blog post next week about it. When you say you had a problem with wax - what did you use and what went wrong?
      cheers fiona

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  9. It came out great! I agree with you about being nervous painting someone's furniture-I feel the same way!

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    1. thanks so much Susan, yes it's nerve racking!
      but all's well that ends well
      Fiona xx

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  10. Love the look and as a client I would have been over the moon with the result... I am just at the waxing stage of my first piece and am looking forward to your blog next week to get some tips before I start that part of the process..

    Globak sell miniwax products here and have read that you can make diy version of wipe on poly by thinning standard poly with mineral spirits have you tried that..

    Love the French grey on the piece what brand and colour was it if u don't mind me asking I have tried a few and they never look quiet look right..

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  11. It looks amazing,what a difference.

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Thanks for taking the time to comment! Sorry if you have trouble commenting, you can always email me at lilyfieldlife@bigpond.com