Flow Blue and White Vintage Dresser Makeover

Happy Friday before Christmas!  This month has been packed full with activities and has flown by... which is why it's taken forever to share this latest makeover with you: my Flow Blue and White Vintage Dresser!

This dresser belonged to my great uncle, so it has loads of sentimental value... and while I wanted to breathe new life into into, I didn't want to take away all of its patina, its signs that it was well-loved.

When my sister dropped this off in my garage, it was a little worse for the wear.  The top had several peeling layers of varnish, the wood veneer was warped and dry... it was in need of some love.

I gave it a good cleaning, lightly sanded the peeling varnish, lightly glued the warped veneer, and stripped and sanded the wood top.

After staining with a dark walnut stain, I loved the sheen of the natural wood so I didn't do my usual polyurethane coating and instead added a few layers of Miss Mustard Seed's furniture wax, then buffed away.  It's so smooth I can't help but run my fingers across it when I walk by.

You want to touch it, right?  Mmmmm.  The wood frame around the mirror was in good shape and the color was close to the stained top, so I cleaned the frame and waxed it and it was perfect.

Since the original knob was missing a partner, I replaced it with this great pair of vintage-looking knobs that I found at Hobby Lobby.  While not a perfect match with the original drawer handles, they coordinate nicely and fit it well with the period of the piece.

It's a little difficult to see here, but this is the area where the veneer was warped and cracking.  I wanted to keep the veneer but didn't want to risk catching something on it and damaging it more, so I did a little bit of gluing and clamping to do a minor repair.

Now let's get to the best part... that color!  I used Flow Blue Milk Paint from Miss Mustard Seed with the bonding agent (so it wouldn't chip) on the body of the dresser, and Annie Sloan Old White on the drawers and mirror frame.  This was my first experience using MMS milk paint and it was... different.  I was nervous about mixing the portions correctly but I did two batches and the color matched, so I guess it was okay.  The paint was thinner than I'm used to (with chalk or latex paint) but the color was perfect so I didn't mess with it.  I ended up doing two coats and then waxing with MMS furniture wax, which I love.  The consistency is like buttah and it doesn't have a terrible smell.

I'm not a huge fan of the really distressed pieces, so I lightly sanded along the edges where natural wear would occur.  I sanded after waxing this time and I like the result much better than when I sand prior to waxing - lesson learned for future pieces, although with this makeover, I've officially emptied my garage of works-in-progress.  I KNOW.  Whatever shall I do now?!

I've moved this dresser into my master bedroom and am slowly building a gallery wall around it.  I'm new to the whole gallery wall thing so it's taking me a while to commit... remember, this is the master bedroom makeover that's been two years in the making so it's all about taking things slow around here.  Ha!

Here's hoping you have a Merry Christmas - may you be filled with the joy of Christ Jesus this season!