Art Deco Vanity

Art Deco Vanity Before Refinishing

Art Deco Vanity After Refinishing

This was the second item in the art deco bedroom set we refinished. It matched the art deco dresser,  with the same wood and matching handles. It too was made of cherry. This vanity had two sections of damaged veneer; upper right front panel and lower left, beneath the drawer. It's possible to patch small sections of broken veneer, but other times it must be replaced, as it was here. The process of removing old veneer doesn't involve any special skills or tools, just a hot (no steam) iron, a pressing cloth and patience. The iron heats up the old veneer just enough to warm up the old adhesive so you can easily slide a putty knife between the veneer and wood beneath, gently lifting it off until it's removed. This was the process I used to replace the veneer on this lovely vanity. Once the old veneer was completely removed, I glued the new veneer in place, then used a sharp utility knife to remove the excess, then my mini dremel to smooth the edges.

Vanity With Mirror

For the bottom side, I measured a larger section of veneer, then laid the entire piece over the prepared surface. Once it was adhered, I used the knife to cut away the extra veneer and repeated the smoothing process with the mini dremel. By smoothing the edges using a slightly beveled finish, you decrease the chance of the edge getting caught and the veneer tearing off. Once the new veneer was in place, I lightly sanded it then began the stripping process.

Once stripped, I sanded the entire vanity, (drawers separately), and wiped everything down with laquer thinner to clean off the remaining dust before applying cherry stain. I finished it with three coats of polyurethane which gave this piece a great sheen and completely new look. The clips in the center section hold a glass shelf (which I did not have) and will look great when in use.

The back of this vanity had a large mirror, which only needed one section of veneer replaced on the lower left side. Then it was stripped, sanded and the edges stained and finished with semi-gloss polyurethane. The mirror clamps were also cleaned and polished. Since I didn't have the actual mirror (it was left at the customers house) I created the above "mirror" with the magic of my trusty MacBook Air computer and a bit of imagination. I also wanted to see what it would look like with the mirror attached! This was probably my favorite piece in this bedroom set. I absolutely love the way it turned out!