Revitalizing A Cherished Childhood Dresser
Allow us to introduce InteriorCrowd, a great new platform that connects users with a network of interior designers who can collaborate on any type of home or office project—from picking the right paint color and furniture to a full scale remodel (and everything in-between!). We’ve partnered with InteriorCrowd designers to help their clients revitalize beloved furnishings to fit their freshly redesigned homes. Read on to learn about one of our recent collaborations—revitalizing a cherished antique dresser with InteriorCrowd founder, Heather Natsch.
Inspired from an early age by the antiques of her mother and grandmother, Heather accompanied her parents in their antiquing escapades and selected furnishings for her own room. This dresser from the 1800s was the start of her own collection (albeit funded by her parents) at the ripe old age of six. Throughout her childhood, this dresser held more than clothes—it stored secrets and memories. A treasured piece, this dresser moved with Heather from her childhood home to college and from her first apartment to her first real home. When Heather recently redesigned her master bedroom, she decided it was finally time to give this precious heirloom a facelift.
REVITALIZATION Checklist
Strip, stain and seal dresser
Remove splintered veneer
Repair chipped corners
Replace hardware
Improve drawer slide functionality
Design Decisions
The original design direction was to strip the dresser to raw wood to achieve a modern-rustic aesthetic. However, we discovered that the dresser was constructed with a variety of wood types; the body was walnut, the drawer fronts were ash and the top was oak. While a mix-n-match wood dresser can certainly be beautiful, it was not the look Heather wanted. So we picked the darkest wood (the walnut) and stained the others to match, creating a uniform color. The rich brown walnut stain has subtle, warm gold undertones that work well with the bedroom’s serene blue and ivory palette.
To update the dresser while still honoring its 160-year heritage, we replaced the antique-brass drawer pulls with faux-bone pulls. The cylindrical bone-like pulls play beautifully with the inlaid bone diamond shapes around the keyhole on each drawer.
Things To Keep In Mind
When striping stained or painted wood furniture to raw wood, be prepared for what lies beneath—it may not be what you are expecting and is not uncommon for a variety of woods to be used.
There’s no price for a sentimental object. Here at Revitaliste, we are ardent believers in keeping these pieces and transforming them to fit with your current decor.
With its refreshed appearance, this cherished dresser brings history and character into Heather's bedroom. Fresh updates not only preserve the piece’s storied past, but ensure that it will survive the test of time as a future family heirloom.
Have antique furniture you want to revitalize? Get in touch for an antique restoration quote HERE.
Photography by guillermo gusils leon