A Dresser with a Past (part 2)

So a couple of months ago, I bought a vintage dresser for The Lady. I thought I'd just go ahead and sand it, stain it and paint it likety split. No problem, right? Well, it turns out all that takes a monumental amount of time. I'd guess it was about 20 hours of work. If the law firm I work for charged it out, it would come in around $6,000. I know this because my spouse evaluates everything by the billable hour. In his mind, this dresser has cost him about $6,300. And he didn't even like it in the first place.

I thought it would be a good idea to remove the veneer from the top of the dresser. This turned out to be a very, very, very bad idea. If you ever feel like removing wood veneer is a good idea, please save yourself the time and energy and just shove wood slivers in your hand and nails, bang your knuckles repeatedly with a hammer, then go to Home Depot and buy another damn piece of evil wood veneer to cover the one that is already there. It will be a lot less painful this way.

Also, be wary of the spouse who offers advice about wood refinishing (especially when he has  NO EXPERIENCE WHATSOEVER), but who does not actually help with the project. This is a passive-aggressive attempt to get you back for all those bitchy PMS moments you've given him over the years. Well deserved? Perhaps. But now you've been warned, so look out.

The drawers were easy to stain and they looked great. Washing the stain out of the dog's tail was not so easy.

It went from shabby chic to pile of crap right quick, let me tell you. I'm sure my neighbors enjoyed the view from their second story window for those 6 enchanted weeks of renovation.

Finally complete. Not bad, huh?! I had grand ideas of hand painting the relief, but I've had it with this project for now, so I called it a day and left it white. I actually like it like this. And that's not just because I'm lazy. Who knows...maybe I'll even install the other cabinet door pull someday.

A Mirror for The Lady's Room



Original mirror purchased from Wisteria Outlet.



The genuis of JJ. Voila! A Parisian delight.

Detail of the basket.



Finally starting to come together. A place for The Lady to rest her precious head.



The Canopy is Complete

The canopy is complete. Long live the canopy. This is one of those ridiculous design blocks that became a looming dark tower in my mind. It is NOTHING like my original inspiration. My vision involved construction, drapery, trim work, etc. Instead, I asked The Lady what she wanted and  here it is. The photo does not do it justice.


The canopy consists of several yards of pink chiffon littered with pink floral cut outs, satin ribbon and paper peony.

 

The bedding is a simple mix of white damask embroidery, pink taffeta and a floral stripe. A white duvet cover steps into the background and tones down the pink walls.

A pink floral waterfall. Lovely.



Detail: Paper peony flowers and satin ribbon.

 

Detail of the floral chiffon.

Original condition. Gilded garland mirror from Wisteria Outlet.

This is the mirror that will hang on the wall under the canopy. JJ did a fantastic job transforming the mirror into a colorful and sweet shabby chic piece that is perfect reflection of The Lady.



A Dresser With a Past



Yesterday, I randomly checked Craig's List for a dresser for The Lady's room. In one of those "it was meant to be" moments, I found this gem. It's perfect in style, dimension and purpose. I'm not the biggest fan of shabby chic, but inspiration has lead me down that path for The Lady's room. This dresser is the shabbiest, so it will have a bit of a face lift in the coming days. JJ did an amazing job on the mirror, so I'm going to give her free reign. In this case, mom knows best.

On a strange note, the dresser had some very heavy negative energy. It was so strong, I wouldn't bring it in the house. I know, I know. I'm going all Northern California on you, but really, it was weird. So I put it in the storage room and JJ and I cleared it by burning sage. If you've never done this before, you should know to open all the doors and windows because it smokes and smells like a Dead concert, but without the pleasant side effects. On the other hand, we didn't have the urge to eat a pack of Oreos and a bag of Cheetos.


Made by the Sligh Furniture Company of Grand Rapids, Michigan. I'd guess somewhere between 1915-1935. 



Interior view. The top drawers may be removed for a place to keep the Lady's dolls.



Detail of the door.



Detail of the skirt trim.




 

The Lady's Room continued



A quick mock up of the canopy. The mirror doesn't work and will be replaced with something with some Frenchy punch. The amazingly talented JJ has agreed to design the new custom pillow covers.

 

This room is begging for a fancy vanity table. I'm on the hunt for it. Vintage slipper chair in pink velvet with rhinestone buttons. The chair came from eBay and the fabric was a remnant from Fabric Factory. White stool used as a kid-sized side table from Wisteria. Pottery Barn kids rug.

 


Paper flowers bloom over fairy tale images. The Lady wants princesses, but I can't stomach the ones you find at the Target. So Edward Ducat prints stand in for pedestrian cartoons. 




Vintage flowers inspire the color scheme.




Rosy knobs for the bathroom cabinet  from Anthropologie.





Dogwood knobs for the vanity  from Anthropologie

 

Bedroom Ideas

I am determined to have doors like these in my bedroom. We have a niche that will be perfect. Stay tuned for the "after" photo. Photo: Elle Decor



Thanks to Estelle who directed me to these panels at Think Twice (Hi Christian!) in Dallas at Hollywood Floral. It's a wonderful little collection of fabulous. Check it out.  You won't be disappointed.


These panels will be the focal point of the custom doors for the master bedroom. Hopefully they will look like the image above: the inspiration for the whole project. Fingers crossed.

 


Fabulous nightstand. Photo: House and Home (Canada)

  

Ultimately, I went with one of these for the master bedroom. Photo: from a MGBW tear sheet.

 


And one of these for the other side of the bed. Photo: from a MGBW tear sheet

 


A pair of these Petrie Chairs from Crate and Barrel will go in the master. Photo: Crate and Barrel

 


Inspiration for the guest room color scheme. Photo: House and Home (Canada)  

 


Love the Foo Dog lamp. A good option for the guest room. The dresser is modern with a traditional flair. Photo: House Beautiful

 


Clean lines, lots of natural light. A lovely guest room. Who wouldn't want to rest here? 
Photo: House and Home (Canada)

 

Mr. Personality's Room



Mr. Personality's Room





Color scheme



Fabric for the Danish Modern arm chair.






Bold colors for a bold boy.
Photo: Elle Decor.

 

Hanging chair from Ikea. Famous designer and stylist not included. Dang.
Photo: no clue. 





The Lady's Bedroom





The Lady's Room

 

Paper blossoms. They will bloom for the Lady in some shape or form. Photo: PB Kids.



The color scheme and textiles



The Lady requested a canopy (or as she says "campony") for her daybed. This image from Elle Decor served as the original inspiration. However, several fits and starts later, it will look NOTHING like this photo. Who knew a bed canopy could be so difficult. I'm not giving up. Stay tuned. Things to remember from this project:

• there are no less than 20,000 shades of pink.
• Choose one shade of pink and stick with it.
• Break it up with white because I've got no shot at introducing another color.
• Do not buy non-returnable custom curtains until and unless you match the color.



Green Louis Chairs break up a Great Pink Sea. Photo: House Beautiful.



I would have loved to have had this room for tea parties. Photo: the late great Domino.





Curtains Scarlett O'Hara could appreciate. I bought these for the Lady's room, but they are salmon not ballerina pink. Wrong color and non-returnable. Re-sale anyone?!
Photo: Domino.



Another horrible tear sheet page. My apologies to Elle Decor for the rumpled image.I like how the headboard and the curtain works together to create a canopy, the Hollywood Regency stands and the cactus lamp.