Thursday, July 5, 2012

Campaign Chest re-do!

Up until last month, I wasn't even aware of what campaign furniture was. I swear, I'm always the last one to get on the "trend" train. The first campaign chest I found was a Baker and I got a killer deal. Neither the seller nor myself had a clue of what it was.  I'm only halfway done with that one.  This black one I found off of CL. The seller said she got it at an auction and that it was a prop in a movie.
She had planned on redoing it, but didn't have the time. I paid a little more than I wanted, but these pieces are so hard to come by!   I'd put this piece in the 1930's to '40's range. It was pretty beat up too. Someone had obviously painted it black (or maybe thats how it came).



As I said, the paint was in poor condition, was glossy and I didn't know if it was oil based, so I decided to sand it off.  I didn't take any during pictures. After sanding, I gave it a coat of black chalk paint and fine sanded it so it was nice and smooth.  I knew I wanted some of the black to peek through. I would have loved to give it a coat of a nice glossy deep color, but the wood just wasn't in good enough shape. Glossy paint shows every ding and dent. So, while I wasn't all that keen on giving this piece 
a distressed look, I didn't have much choice. 

I think everyone in blog land has seen the emerald green dresser on google images.
I love the color. 

And I think on these types of pieces, a strong color is the way to go. Somehow, painting this a light pastel or gray just didn't feel right.
This was my inspiration piece. 
My piece is older and smaller, but I think I nailed the same color green. 

 I made my own chalk paint again. Some Behr color that I got in a sample pot was just enough for the entire piece.  I did a lot of fine sanding in between and after the final coat. 
    I used a burnishing paste and then went over that with both a dark and light wax. 
         The hardware took forever and a day to polish! 

 I have no place in my house to stage this piece. Maybe I'll try lugging it outside. Ideally, I see this piece
in a somewhat modern type house. Maybe used in an entry way. I think it would make a killer bathroom vanity as well.  

                                                The flash just wipes out the color and detail.

 The other keyhole cover was missing. :(

I used my fave peacock fabric to line the drawer and bottom shelf. I love all the colors in this
fabric! If I could, I would do my whole house in them!


I forgot I had my beautiful peacock photograph in the other room! I thought the greens in the photo
would go perfectly w/the chest. I can't get enough of blues and greens! Too bad the color
of the wall in the photo is so yech! It really isn't that bad in person. I would definitely paint the room around this chest if I was going to keep it! 




Linking up at all my fave parties listed at the bottom, plus:
"Transformation Thursday at the Shabby Chic Cottage"

17 comments:

  1. You did wonderful and the color is perfect! Well done:)

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  2. love it! THE COLOR IS PERFECT!

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  3. I have never cared for this type furnture at all, but you might have just changed my mind! It looks great - love the color and the distressing. :)

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  4. Wow, absolutely gorgeous! I LOVE GREEN! And this dresser is such a cool find. Awesome transformation!

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  5. Oh wow!! What an amazing redo! Thanx for coming to THT!:)

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  6. This is absolutely ADORABLE!! Hope you can link it up at my trendy tuesday party!! http://www.sweetlittlegals.com

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  7. great color! and very cool hardware too

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  8. Wow, this is awesome! And the hardware is amazing! Just stopping over from 36th Avenue :)

    Charlie @ Match Made On Hudson

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  9. BAM! You nailed it! Ever since I saw you buy that a few weeks ago I have been (im)patiently waiting for the finished project. I must say, ballpark knockout. I love it! Great job!
    XOXO,
    Rachel

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  10. What an amzing color!! Love it!
    Tuula

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  11. Great re-do!! I love the green!! Just a great pop of color. :) Guess what! You've been FEATURED over at my Unveil Your Genius link party!! Hop on over to grab a feature button. :)
    http://taylornorris.blogspot.com/2012/07/unveil-your-genius-link-party.html
    PS...thanks for linking up last week. Would love to have you party again soon!

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  12. what an awesome piece and the fabric is perfect. What is burnishing paste? Am I a complete dunce. never heard of it. Could you enlighten me. I love the look.

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  13. That fabric is wonderful!! Where did you get it? Do you have a picture of it on its own? Great website!

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    1. It looks pretty much like it does in the drawer. repeated images of the peacock and flowers. I believe I got it online at fabrics.com.

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  14. WOW, this is just gorgeous Beth! I'm totally in love with it! The hardware is soo beautiful, and I love the colour SO soo much! You really did an amazing job, the wax effect looks fabulous and the whole thing looks so good that it's hard to believe it's the same piece!

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  15. Please share you "secrets" for adhering fabric in a drawer? I read about mod-podging fabric but I am a bit afraid to try. I think about raw edges, bits of raw fabric, getting modpodge on top of the fabric etc. Do you put anything on top of the fabric to "seal" it?

    I usually use my handmade papers as drawer liners but of course the top isn't sealed so does not last as long as I imagine fabric would. PLEASE SHARE YOUR METHOD?

    Donna Allgaier-Lamberti / White Oak Studio Designs / SW Michigan
    Hand-Painted Vintage Furniture Transformations
    Blog: http://smallhouseunderabigsky.wordpress.com
    Facebook: donnaallgaierlamberti@facebook.com (To see a portfolio of painted pieces for sale)

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