Dressers Painted Black

Dresser Before

Dresser After

I found this little treasure at an estate sale along with another dresser (at bottom, which also had a special design detail at the lower edge). I especially loved the top drawer, which was slightly longer than the other three and had a great curvy top, reminding me of an Art Deco style. The dresser was pine, and while the wood was in great shape and would have look good stained, I chose black paint instead.

I knew the two dressers would look great painted black, as long as I could find matching knobs. As always, a full stripping was necessary before priming and painting. I was fortunate to find online sixteen knobs that were light gray porcelain with a "crackled" look. This was the detail needed to link the two different style dressers together so that they made a matched set. It never ceases to amaze me how much paint changes the look and feel of a piece of furniture. In this case, choosing the right paint linked two totally separate pieces together as a matched set.

Dresser Before

Dresser After

Oak Mantel Stained Darker

Mantel Before

This beautiful oak mantel was quite challenging because of the intricate design with fluted sides and so much detail in the top. There was also a hearth, which I took no photos. (Unfortunately, I didn't get a vertical photo of the mantel before I began stripping it.) My customer wanted a darker finish, so the first step was to completely strip the wood surface of its coating, which proved to be time-consuming and labor intensive work.

Mantel After

The process was to first completely remove the old polyurethane with a strong gel stripper, first using a large brass brush, then going into the grooves with a smaller brass brush, then finally gently scrubbing the surface with a #0 steel wool before the final coat of sanding with a 200 grit piece of sandpaper.

It was a couple of days before I was ready to apply the stain, which was "General Stain Java Gel," the customer's choice. I had not worked with a gel stain before and found that not only was the stain spectacular to use, it had a "cherry" fragrance,  not the typical "chemical" odor you expect from a chemical stain. It was thick and easy to work with and left a deep, rich finish after two applications. The end result was an elegant, rich darker mantel which the customer loved!