July 31, 2012

Empire Dresser Before and After

I have been wanting to work on an Empire Dresser for a while now and I was lucky enough to find one. The lady I bought this dresser from had it sitting in her carport and it had a lot of damage to it. The veneer was peeling off of the legs and it was pretty unloved. Helen to the rescue!

BEFORE


I mixed a custom sea green color and painted with homemade chalk paint and sealed with a coat of rub-on polyurethane. I get a lot of emails with questions about chalk paint, waxing, and distressing. I am planning on doing a post to answer all of these questions. If you guys have any other questions please let me know and I will answer those too!

AFTER






 I lined all of the drawers with a textured grey suede fabric. The fabric replicates the texture that the distressing shows on the top of the dresser. It was a nice coincidence.
I love those brass key holes.

74 comments:

  1. This is absolutely stunning! I love everything about it...color, finish, shape..etc. Amazing job. Megan

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    1. Thank you Megan! I think this might be one of my favorite pieces I've done.

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  2. WOW! this is gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous! i love the color, shape, hardware--- all of it!

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    1. Thank you Cassie. It means the world coming from you : )

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  3. Love this! Want to come help me with a buffet....hutch....desk....dresser....etc :)

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  4. Really beautiful! Just curious- did you do anything about the missing veneer, or leave it as it was? I look forward to your future posts answering all the "how to" questions!

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  5. Great job! Helen

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  6. This piece is amazing! I just love. I have only recently started using chalk paint and will be excited to see your post. Thanks!

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  7. How can somebody keep this beauty in a carport? You did such a good job, color is stunning, distressing is perfect and the knobs…awesome..so glad you rescued it...

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  8. This is awesome! I love that color! I'm looking forward to your how-to post!

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  9. Just gorgeous! Lovely color as well. Thank you for sharing. Visiting from POPP. Would love it if you would share this at my Make it Pretty Monday party at The Dedicated House. http://thededicatedhouse.blogspot.com/2012/07/make-it-pretty-monday-week-8.html Hope to see you at the bash! Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse

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  10. it turned out beautiful! i love the color!

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  11. The keyholes.....the color....the texture in the finish & distressing....all beautiful. I love this piece!

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  12. Love this dresser makeover. What a difference. The color is cool. Thanks for sharing.

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  13. Wow, you sure find the best pieces. This one is gorgeous too. Love the color, keyholes and distressing. Great job! So glad you shared your creative inspiration with Sunday’s Best – your creativity helped make the party a success!

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  14. WOW love the dresser! Looking forward to your Q&A post especially since I have just recently become obessed with wanting to chalk paint everything I see. Haven't done any yet, will be starting this fall when it's not 105 outside. Thanks for sharing your projects with us.

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  15. Hi there, Love your painted dresser! I hope you can link up to our link party Frugalicious Friday next time! You can find it on Fridays...here - www.findingfabulousblog.com

    Jane
    FF

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  16. Replies
    1. Thank you Carlene and thanks for visiting : )

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  17. just a stunner girly! You rocked it! Gorgeous color beautiful detailing ta boot:) JEALOUS!!

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  18. Love this...you picked the perfect color and finish! Laurel

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    1. Thanks Laurel! I got super lucky with the way the custom color came out. I should start writing down my recipes when I make custom colors :)
      Thanks for visiting and your sweet words!

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  19. Love this dresser! It has great lines and a beautiful color! AWESOME!
    Rachel @ Remastered relics

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    1. Hi Rachel. Thanks for visting my blog. I love, love, love these old empire dressers. It was my lucky day when I found this one! Thanks for your kind words.

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  20. SOO Pretty! Love the color with the new knobs! Great job!
    Thanks for linking up to this week's Catch a Glimpse party! I'll be featuring this tomorrow!

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  21. That is beautiful! Great transformation, and I absolutely love the color!

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    1. Thank you so much and for your sweet words. I got lucky with the way the custom mixed color came out.

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  22. Beautiful color! Would love to know your chalk paint recipe, mine isn't working out so well anymore. Love the piece great work!

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    1. I tested three different chalk paint recipes & recently reviewed them on my blog. You might be interested in what I found worked the very best. www.patricia-krank.blogspot.com

      By the way, I love your blog! Patti

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  23. I'm so happy that I came across your blog through LizMarie's Linky Party. I love what you've done with this dresser and will look forward to following ALL your work. Restoring old furniture through paint is what I love to do as well. It's so much fun to be a new blogger sharing with others of like passion. Patti www.patricia-krank.blogspot.com

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    1. Hi Patricia! I agree, it is a lot of fun being a new blogger and meeting others. Thanks for following along : )

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  24. Popping over from Liz Marie's party. Love this dresser! The color is amazing! The shape of the piece is so beautiful! Nice job!

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    1. Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog and for your sweet words!

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  25. Stunning piece and great color! Thank you for sharing your wonderful project at Potpourri Friday!

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  26. What a beautiful job!! Love this color! I'm sure looking forward to your upcoming post with all the "how-to" answers!! Your newest follower...Blessings!

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    1. Hi Kathy, thank you for taking the time to follow my blog and for your sweet words! My husband is trying to convince me I should do a video tutorial/how-to...yikes! Once I decide which way I wanna go I will have those how-to's up!

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  27. Hi Helen, I love this color and the finish is awesome. I am looking forward to your post on painting techniques. Kathy

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    1. Kathy, thanks for taking the time to stop by. Congrats on the feature over at Primitive and Proper!!

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  28. I was concerned that you might be ill or have a situation since you haven't posted lately....just checking on you.

    I enjoy looking at your creations! Thanks for sharing. LC

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  29. such a serene and tranquil color!

    looks fabulous. found you via MMS's party where i'm partying too. would love to have you as a follower.

    smiles and happy weekend.

    michele

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  30. Helen....... this is beautiful! I love it. Pinning it.

    ~Bliss~

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    1. THANK YOU!!! I found another empire dresser that is in the works!

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  31. Hi, thanks for visiting my blog! Your empire dresser came out really cute! I like the color selection.

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  32. I LOVE everything about this dresser!!! Fantastic job! Now following along : ). Can't wait to see more!!

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  33. What a stunning piece! I am new to your blog and am just beginning to *look* for pieces to restore and refinish....I found a chest quite similar to this one but I am curious about the price...obviously cheap is good


    What do you think is a fair price for a piece like this? They were asking $500 for the one I found (which seems pricey)...also besides Craigslist do you have any tips on where to find these pieces??

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    1. Hi Betty!

      It depends on the condition of the piece and what you are wanting to do with it. The piece you saw for $500....was it painted, was it natural wood, was it in decent condition....?

      I paid $130 for this dresser and I found it on CL. It needed a lot of work. Empire dressers can sell for $1000 (give or take) in some cases but that is usually if they are in perfect condition and they are refinished (not painted).

      I find a few things at garage sales, estate sales (usually on the last day), at resale shops and Goodwill. I love GW but it is hit or miss sometimes!

      Good luck and if you have any other questions let me know: pickedandpainted@yahoo.com

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  34. Do you have a date on this piece. We just aquired one that was done in the old "blood" stain (2 parts jacobeen and 1 part red mahogany to reproduce) but don't have a date on it. It looks almost the same as yours except the top drawer rounds out, not in, and the glove and cravat drawers are on each side of the top with about 12 inches between them. Im looking for an estimated date, or range. Please let me know at kmschod@aol.com. Thank you.
    Thank you

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  35. I just bought the exact same piece and I'm missing a knob. would you have 1 I can buy?
    Winters19@outlook.com

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    Hope it will help you next time !

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  37. Well, now that you ruined THAT piece...

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