Old dresser gets updated frenchy-look

So here is the new dresser I've been commissioned to work on.  The customer bought it off of CL. Isn't it just gorgeous?  lol... Well, at least it has good bones. The customer wanted a brown top and aqua everything else. I didn't think the wood on top would be any good, because it was a veneer. 

Whats with the two blue drawers??? The previous owners were trying a new color and decided, "Oh never mind"???

Hmmmmm...I wonder just what is underneath all those years of funk??? 

I hate stripping furniture more than going to a yearly GYN exam.  But, I just had to know. 

So I broke out my soy stripper that I totally forgot I had hidden away in the cabinet. It's been there for 5 years. Never have used it. It's completely natural and has no odor. Clean-up is with water. 

So I thought I would try it on the corner,,,just for a peek.

Whaaa???? What is this pretty dark woodness showing 

through?? Could it be? 

Here is the soy stripper starting to work. 

Heres a jug of the stripper. And this baby is no cheap date!
But it works like a charm!!! 

 Look at this stuff come right off. I don't know what the yellow stuff was on top (paint? glaze?) but there was a tough white layer underneath it. Some spots took two treatments. WHAT on God's green Earth was I thinking!!!??? Look at all those curves and stuff. Do you have any idea how long this
took me?? I hate stripping, I hate stripping.......No, I love the results!

                         

   Wow. She cleans up nicely! Only took like, 8 hours! 

 Too bad all of that veneer is on that balsa-y type stuff

that sands away to nothingness. I had to re-stain it to darken it up again.

The drawers are nice and sturdy but again, it's that balsa-y stuff. If you sand too much, it melts away. arrrrrggg! 

                          Here is my homemade chalk paint (2:1, paint and plaster of paris) that 

                                I rolled on (two coats) to give it a nice smooth look. I used Martha Stewart "Spud" and cut it with some white.

                 It turned out great. I sanded with 320 and then took a

                    100 grit to get the edges and work on the middle.

       


                        I forgot to take a before shot. But here is the top after distressing and glazing.
                      I mixed some walnut stain in with some Martha Stewart Faux Glaze that was on
                      clearance for $2.00.

I just love the way the coloring came out on this top. I used a dark wax

 and gave it two coats. Don't look at the drawer yet. The hardware was still in original form, and the paint hadn't been glazed or waxed yet. 

                     

Ok..This is in the garage and the flash really washed out the color. Oh, and there is no finishing coat of wax on this body yet. I wanted to wait and get the ok from the customer first before I sealed her up.   I will get some better shots in the right lighting. But, What do you think????? This is what the customer wanted. It's very French/Shabby-ish. 

The color is much prettier in person. Just wait a bit. 

 

   Ok. Here it is in the light of day. These blues are hard to get a true depiction while outside.                   

I love these detail.  The blues look different because the photos were taken at different
times of the day. This color is actually the closest to what it looks like. 

 I mean, Look at the diff between these two. They were taken about  2 hours apart. The one below was after the sun had gone down a bit.  It shows a lot cooler.