Not letting damaged veneer bring you down...

It's a Wednesday morning and all is way to quiet around here.  The kids have been in school for 3 days now.  I thought I would be jumping for joy when I could write and work in peace, but I know this feeling all to well.  That achy heart us parents get for the first few weeks of school starting. Again, as I walked to my car after dropping my youngest off at Preschool today, I felt it. I think it may be harder for us than the kids!  But I take it day by day and try to stay busy... like that's hard for me to do, haha!

Onto saving furniture shall we?!  Last week, I finished off a few projects I couldn't wait to bring to Knott So Shabby.  Today I'm sharing a few with you, starting with this fabulous antique vanity.  For some reason I didn't take a before picture of this one, probably because I was to excited to start. This gem was found at a yard sale believe it or not.  Well it wasn't actually IN the sale, but when I asked the owner if he had anything else in that big garage he opened the door for me and I could see just a peek at one of those corner carvings.  My heart was all a pitter patter at this point.  Digging deeper, I was thrilled to see the mirror all in one piece, but also got a look at the veneer damage on the side. My husband looked at me with those do NOT even think about it eyes, but I couldn't let this one go, I knew it could be saved and it was!  We hauled it home, took off the damaged veneer on the one side and sanded it smooth.  You now can not tell which side was damaged.  

If you're a refurbisher, refinisher, up-cycler, or junker, you know as soon as you see something you love, you start to think about what it CAN be or what color you think it needs to be. Well for me, I immediately thought of Miss Mustard Seed's newest color  Dried Lavender.  So this piece sat and sat in our garage awaiting the day that new color would be released.  And after a week of getting my shipment, I ripped open that bag and was giddy about what I saw next!  Not only was it a gorgeous color, it was perfect for this piece as I felt it would be. We did refinished the top which turned out way beyond our expectations.  The wood grain and color are just stunning on this one. I'm thinking it is either a cherry wood or mahogany.  

For the ornate filigree carvings and drawer faces, I did several different techniques until I
achieved the look I wanted. These included white washing, dry brushing and using clear and dark waxes to get this look.

Refinished top, love that wood grain and color!

And then there was project #2 with even more veneer damage...

An old school friend texted me a picture of her bedroom suite she wanted to sell.  Of course I jumped at it because well, just look at the picture below, it's absolutely beautiful.  But if you were to look a little closer, you would see again that old nasty veneer coming off the sides of the wardrobe and along the bottom of the head and foot boards.

Did I let this stop me? Of course not!  My dear sweet husband again helped me haul this solid set down 3, yes 3 flights of stairs, giving me the third degree down each one. I just bat my eyes and say it will look great! I thought refurbishing this set would be done licketly split, but not hardly.  After my husband glued and then added trim to the bottom of the wardrobe, I started peeling the damaged veneer off the headboard and foot board. Lucky for us or me at least, hehe, there wasn't any damage to the dresser and the mirror was in mint condition as well!  

After hours with a chisel, hammer, heat gun and wet towels,
I was finally able to free this set of veneer.

It was coming along nicely until I noticed the middle area of the headboard was coming off as well.  After thinking of a way to get wood glue beneath there somehow, I finally decided to just take off all the veneer and see what happens.

And this is what I saw beneath.  Like a coloring book, I simply painted in the lines with my custom mix of Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint™ in Paris Gray, Duck Egg and Old White. 

Looking better already!

We did refinish the top of the dresser as well as the wood decorative moldings on the bed and dresser.  This gave the set just the right vintage appeal I was looking for.  With a little distressing along with clear and dark wax, the set now looks like it belongs in a romantic cottage in the woods or a little princesses room:)

LOVE the new look and have I mentioned how much I LOVE my
exposed brick wall in the shop? 

Cant get enough of marrying wood grain and paint these days!    I think they compliment each other beautifully.

Distressed just enough...

Not only is this wardrobe now looking cleaner and brighter, it also houses loads
of storage including 5 drawers and a hanging rack for clothes.

And there you have it folks!  Saving gorgeous pieces of good quality furniture from the inevitable dumpster or burn pile.  If you come across a piece in your travels and it has veneer flaking off, think twice before before waking away, it could be a treasure in disguise!

Thank you for taking the time to read what's happening at our home and Knott So Shabby this week!