Charlevoix Cherry Antique Dresser

Dresser Before

Dresser After

While on vacation, we came across this dresser at an estate sale at real date written somewhere on it that we could refer to! As with most antiques, it had great bones but needed some love. We found it at a beautiful house on Lake Michigan in Charlevoix.

There was an inscription written in the upper right corner of the
small drawer that said, "Sold to John Holmes on April 27, 1874." Wow! This was the first piece of
furniture that had a date on it. If it was sold in 1874, then it could have been made much sooner, maybe the mid 1800's. At least we knew for sure it was at least 140 years old. Amazing!

Jewelry Drawer w/key

Dresser Jewelry Drawers Before

The first thing to do was to reinforce the dresser's interior. The drawers were solid, but the rear needed some reinforcement. Once that had been done, the refinishing process began and it was a tedious one. The "shell" design of the drawer pulls were what made this dresser unique, but also quite challenging to refinish as they were quite detailed. The top two smaller drawers had locks, but the holes had been covered up with large knobs. They may have looked original, but they weren't.

Dresser Jewelry Drawers After

The original keyholes were still there, so we purchased the keyhole covers so that the locks could once again be used and put the proper tiny brass pulls underneath, more appropriate for the size of these drawers. Once the grim was removed beautiful cherry wood was revealed, so we decided to use cherry stain. This proved to be a great choice as it brought out the beautiful grain of the wood. Lastly, two coats of polyurethane to protect the finish was applied and the once neglected, shoddy dresser becomes a superstar. Another great piece of furniture that will get a second chance at a new life!