Thursday, July 31, 2014

The Eastlake Dresser

I told you about my little potting bench for the garage. It left a hole in the game room that caused a complete shuffle of furnishings on the second floor. 
My little Eastlake dresser was masquerading as a country, cottage piece.
It wasn't supposed to be and it didn't go with anything else in Rebekah's room.



It coordinated okay with the bed but not with the washstand or the secretary. 
I decided to put it back in the spot that it had sat for years.
The next day Bill said that it didn't go in this room either. He said he didn't like it. 
It is Eastlake in style but it is like no other example that I've ever seen. 



The color seems wrong and the knobs were not original.
Eastlake furniture was from the later part of the Victorian era. It had less ornamentation than dressers from earlier in the time period. Eastlake furniture became popular in the U.S. around the turn of the last century. The grooved edges and joinery of the drawers indicate that it is Eastlake. 



The examples I've seen are a medium to dark orange-y color. I've also seen painted sets and ebonized pieces. I'd suspected that this piece may have been one of the painted ones and that my mom stripped it. It would have been part of a whole suite. 
 I'd brainstormed about every possible place this could go and came up empty handed.
I toyed with the idea of painting it to be more original but first it needed a once over to make sure my suspicions were correct. 



I saw signs of solvent and some cream paint left over from being stripped.
There was also what looked like the remnant of some other bracing. When I took this apart it seemed like a mirror or something was missing. 


My mom was a DIY-er and loved an Early American rather than Victorian look. She was an avid antique shopper. This piece had been repurposed. Years and years of drinks setting on it had taken a toll. It was in bad shape and after much thought and angst, I didn't feel bad for trying to restore it a little. 



For years I've used Restor-a-finish. It didn't work. 



I was going for a look so that it could be moved into any of our guest rooms at some point.



I painted it with CeCe Caldwell Chalk paint. I mixed Michigan Pine and Alaskan Tundra. 
It seemed too light. 


 Michigan Pine was the darker of the two colors so it got another coat of that. When that dried I gave it a coat of Johnson's Paste wax.
But it was very blotchy even after it dried.



I did another coat of Michigan Pine and Polycrylic Protective Finish in satin.  I love Polycrylic because it dries in no time flat.



The bear is from Ruidosa, New Mexico. Rebekah painted the picture.




I sanded and stained the top in Jacobean by Minwax.





It's changed the whole feel of it and Bill loves it now.
New black pulls from Hobby Lobby completed the transformation.







 It is very reminiscent of something you'd see in a cabin or lodge but I think it could look cottage in a different room, with different accessories.



I love the top! It coordinates with the rest of the room. It's updated but reminiscent of what it might have been. 



I think my mom would like it.
Thanks for stopping in. 
Katie  
Linking with,
Miss Mustard Seed

3 comments :

  1. I love it!

    I like how the green of the dresser pulls from the green in the Tiffany lamp.

    ReplyDelete
  2. i love it. it looks so good painted and the satin tops. it just looks so pretty.

    ReplyDelete