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I turned this elegant mid century dresser into a chic and modern TV console.
Look at these wonderful carved wood handles extending the full length of each of the 9 drawers.
George picked this up from a nice lady quite some time ago
but I refused to work on it till he recently egged me on again.
The drawers are beautifully built with solid wood front to back, top to bottom.
I wish I could find this level of quality in every piece I work on.
The entire inside frame structure is constructed with solid hard wood.
Now to the reason I refused to work on this piece.
The 6ft long top surface *interior* is ... (listen carefully for the scarey music)
MDF - medium density fiberboard
This invention of the 1960s is formed by gluing together wood fibers under high heat and pressure.
Unfortunelty this dresser dates to 1972, thus becoming an early victim of this new invention.
However this piece also has a thick solid wood veneer covering the MDF,
making it possible for me to completely strip, sand, and refinish the top.
Those familiar with my work know my clear feelings regarding MDF products but many DIYers
are finding ways to refinish it and repurpose pieces constructed of it.
Like these MDF cupboards given a faux paint finish at KFD Designs
How about this wall art using MDF from All Things Thrifty
MDF hardboard was used to transform this guest bedroom at Miss Mustard Seed
So George made one last attempt to convince me to give it a shot and offer a MDF revamp.
Im pleased, well very pleased with the end result but I dont feel my opinion on MDF is going to change any time soon. If this MDF hadnt been wrapped up in so much beautiful craftsmanship
it would have never got my attention.
I opted to industrialize it and give it the low profile needed for a sleek TV console
with vintage metal casters I picked up from my favorite antique dealer.
"Now thats stunning"
is what George said as he walked around the corner not expecting to see it finished for the first time.
He actually keeps saying it every time he passes by.
Telling the story at:
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If you are into mid century furnishings, then you know Kent Coffey.
He made some wonderful, top quality pieces. I saw this one on CL, but didnt think much of it.
Until, I saw the same one in black on 1stdibs going for $8900! Say what???!!
1stdibs is an online, high-end designer goods showcase. Many designer stores in the big cities list their inventory on this site. Needless to say, I called the guy on CL to see if it was still avail. I wont tell you what I paid for it, but it was a killer deal.
The one pic below is the one for sale on 1stdibs. I liked it in black. So I copied.
And here is mine!!! Not bad, eh??
But Im getting ahead of myself. Lets watch the transformation.
By far the most difficult and time consuming part, was this hardware. And there was a lot of it! I took off each piece and marked its place. Ive found that its always best to put certain hardware back in its original place. It just fits better. These were so grimy! I used Krud-Kutter to clean them and then steel wool and a metal cleaner (Brasso and Mothers) to try and take off the tarnish. I knew I was going to spray them with a metallic paint, but I didnt want to spray over this gunk. It wont hold up.
So after many, many hours ( I spread this process out over a period of weeks) heres what I
ended up with:
Just a tad better. Now these just didnt get sprayed once and put back on. Oh no. They were sprayed, then finely sanded with steel wool, then sprayed again. Sometimes a third time if there were bad spots. Then they got a final coat of sealer. Yes, even the screws were sprayed. 3 parts to each pull.
There were 18 pulls. Uh-huh. Count with me. MISERY!!
Now the wood part. This dresser has a mahogany base. The wood finish was in bad condition. Could I have just primed and painted over it? Well yes.
Would it have looked like poop? Well yes.
Your finish is as only good as your base. I used a glossy latex enamel. In black. Its gonna show ever mar and bump. So I sanded off every bit of existing finish until I got to raw wood.
Pristine.
You dont want to paint over raw wood. I applied a wood sealer. And sanded again.
I sand so much, it probably explains why I could use my own hands as sandpaper.
In the garage and the finished top. I believe I did spray a coat of gray primer.
And I think it got 3 coats of black. I did brush it on and it came out very nice. No marks.
I really like to add a pop of color to the sides of the drawers. Its just my thing.
Red just seemed to be it.
And just because, I put some scrap book paper in the middle drawers to go with the red.
This does have a matching mirror I have to get to. With about 10 of these handle things on it!
So not looking forward to that again.
Im going to contact a store in LA to see if they would buy this to put on 1stdibs.
That other one is in Palm Beach, Fla.
Linking up at my fave parties!! :
Kammys Korner - Trash to Treasure Tuesdays
Domestically Speaking - The Power of Paint Party
The Shabby Creek Cottage - Transformation Thursday
Miss Mustardseed - Furniture Feature Friday
Redoux - Friday Link Up Party
Funky Junk Interiors - Saturday Night Special
Knick of Time Interiors - Knick of Time Tuesday
Tuesday-Elizabeth and Co., My uncommon Slice of Suburbia,
Savvy Southern Style. Weds, Beyond the Picket Fence, PJH Designs
From my Front Porch to Yours, The 36th Avenue,
Monday-Between Naps on the Porch, The Dedicated House,
My RePurposed Life
I found a Doernbecher desk that needed my help.
Doernbecher was a furniture manufacturing company established by Frank Silas Doernbecher
in Portland Oregon from 1900 until WWII.
I found a nice little write up that I thought you may enjoy reading.
My step-grandfather started working for Mr.Doernbecher when he was nine years of age. The factory had just been built and put into operation. My grampa started as a sander which ment that he worked twelve hours a day for six days a week. He made 50 cents a day. When he retired at age 45 he was the superintendent of the finishing department and one of the highest paid emploies of the company. He had made enough money working there that he never had to work another day in his life. If this man started when the factory opened and continued to be there until he retired,
the likely hood that he touched this desk is huge.
You can find a side by side before and after pic here.
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She creeped into my dreams last night so first thing this morning I checked my work schedule
finding it was going to be light so away I went to rescue her from the left overs in the yard sale tent.
Some of you know we hosted a fairly good and definetly fun yard sale this past weekend,
We met lots of great ppl and some of my followers.
Leigh and George got to chat extensively about both their european trip tours.
Leigh is such a nice lady and is looking for antique wood corbels.
Does anyone local have suggestions?
Victoria and Pursie stopped in with family. I got to have a great chat and share some other
projects going on inside.
Sis and KC were a big help especially after we all attended a spa party Friday night
that ran quite late for our early Saturday morning start.
Now to the project at hand.
She was already painted white but tired and chipping exposing the cream color
I spent the beautiful sunny day hand sanding all the details and belt sanding the top
down to bare wood to take the walnut stain.
New perfect hardware, and a walnut stain wash all over the body really finish this piece off.
BUT WAIT!
its not really finished till it gets a beautiful sprayed clear coat tomorrow.
UPDATE:
the finished piece with kewl drawer liners can be seen here
Showing at:
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