Stormy Skies Dresser: Distressed Delight
Normally, I have somewhat of a plan for a piece of furniture, which is what allows me to start it in the first place. This one was to be very simple, with the emphasis on the inside: a pull-out drawer that becomes a desk top.
It evolved into something fairly complex!
This is the start--a basic brown dresser, scratched and nicked, and in a little disrepair:
The first color I used, a very bright light blue, looked really odd to me, so I set the piece aside for a while. Then I got another plan and painted over it with a patina green. No, that didn't look right, either. So, later still, the dresser got a final coat of a soft grey, and that, to me, was kind of boring.
Hopeless, I thought. What to do?
I thought I would sand it back down to the wood because it just had too much paint on it and was too thick in some places. So as I began sanding, some really neat effects began to show, and I was actually loving the result. I don't usually distress this heavily, but with this piece, I was able to see the appeal.
So I kept going and ended up with this really pretty and interesting dresser:
hidden desk dresser
Coppery colored vintage pulls went really well with the colors, and I highlighted the inside of the hidden desk with light green and turquoise as an additional unexpected element.
What began as an exercise in futility resulted in a gorgeous, colorful, appealing piece of useful art!
hidden desk dresser
The nicest aspect of the whole thing is that, even with the too-dark photos, this dresser was in my shop listings for only a day before the buyer snapped it up and drove 7 hours to pick it up!
There seemed to be a plan all along...
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