The Empire (Dresser) Strikes Back

Look at this very sad, poor, neglected Empire dresser.

It's so dirty, scratched and the finish has some kind of problem that it looked and felt like it was cracked, but not in a good way--in a need to sand it completely off way.

Did I mention it has some mold?

Don't forget the scratches.

[I always wonder what kind of life these beat up pieces had because it certainly wasn't in some one's bedroom storing their unmentionables!]

I decided to paint it black.  I went to Home Depot and I was going to use Stealth Jet, but felt that was not black enough. The paint mixologist said they knew what color to do for a pure black and mixed it for me--but didn't tell me the name. The label just says black.  I named it Darth Vader (insert that crazy oohh-paa breathing sound he makes here).

I sanded the entire piece to get that weird texture off.  I used a palm sander with a few different type grits.  And it was easier to sand than I thought.  It took me longer to get the sand paper on the sander than it did to get the hang of it. 

(Keep in mind that I have the choice to sand because my husband already has a palm sander.  I would not have bought one for this dresser and maybe would not have sanded at all if we didn't already have one.  Also, I didn't sand the entire piece to a perfectly new smooth surface.  I do not refinish furniture, I paint furniture to give it a new life. So I only spent maybe a half hour sanding until I felt it was good enough to paint.)

I painted it with two coats of homemade chalk paint in the black.  I then sanded it with a medium grit sanding sponge to make the paint smooth and also distress it.  

When I was done the color had a navy blue hue to it--yikes!  Not really knowing what that was about, I just moved on to the dark wax glaze technique.  I applied the wax directly to the paint and the color returned to a pure black.  It added so much dimension to the black and to the distressed parts.  I buffed the wax once it was dry with a piece of scrap drop cloth.

I have since read on Picked & Painted blog that when she sands the homemade chalk paint the color looks completely different, but if you wipe it down with wet rag (or in my case, apply the dark wax) the color will come back. 

Here it is in all its glory!

One of the wood knobs was broken so I replaced the two top ones with green glass knobs.  I chose green because honestly they were the only glass knobs I had that matched.  It took me out of my comfort zone but I am very happy with the way it came out.  Also, the sanding revealed the key holes and they really pop against the black.

Even though this piece required the extra work of sanding it before I painted, I really loved the way it came out.  It made me happy to bring it back to life.  Now it can go back to inside a house to hold unmentionables :)!



Linking to:

Too Much Time On My Hands

Life On Lakeshore Drive

Craft-O-Maniac

I Should Be Mopping The Floor

DIY Showoff

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My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

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The DIY Dreamer

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{Primp}

Nutmeg Place 

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House of Hepworths

The Shabby Creek Cottage

Miss Mustard Seed

The Shabby Nest  

Redoux

Sassy Little Lady

Six Sister's Stuff 

Simple Home Life 

Funky Junk Interiors

Restoration Redoux

I was featured!

Life on Lakeshore Drive 

Classy Clutter  

Kammy's Korner

Embracing Change