Vintage Dresser Transformation

After:


Before:

So, there's cool vintage and then there's not so cool vintage, right? Well, when I first saw this deco vanity it definitely sat in the latter category though just needed a little nudge to bump it to the former.

It came to me for the bargain price of $0 - really, the things people just throw away. It was complete with ugly bakelite handles, a glass shelf and two wing mirrors too, though I only remembered to take the 'before' pic after I already removed them - oops!

Anyways, after a general clean, patch-up and light all over sand I replaced the central glass shelf with a piece of timber (just cause the glass didn't seem quite right for the look I was going for) then primed and painted the whole thing black.

To add some distinction, and for a slight industrial edge, I stencilled on some simple numbers in pale buttery vanilla before distressing the whole piece (corners, edges and flat surfaces) by hand with a sanding block.

Next I sealed the whole thing with wipe-on poly before attaching some new nickel bin pulls.

The big tri-piece wing mirror is completely detachable so you can use it with:

 

or without:

 

I love the way some paint and a few unique little touches can give an old piece of furniture a completely new feel, and in this case, has made what was distinctly a bedroom item into a piece that can be used virtually anywhere.

So from this:

to this: