The Before
This is one of my favorite styles of furniture to work with; well made, lots of storage, easy to repair and open to any style of finish from traditional to rustic. These pieces of furniture can be used in just about every room in the house too. A server in the dining room, entryway storage, bathroom vanity, and of course, for clothing or winter blanket storage in a bedroom. 
This particular dresser is Enormous (50 inches wide!). It had definitely seen better days. Although the wood veneer was beautifully grained, there were lots of scratches, a few gouges, several spillage or burn marks, and a few other hard-use scars that would require complete stripping and thorough sanding to bring back to beautiful wood – with no guarantees that all that work would save the deepest of the stained areas. Not to mention, sanding something this size is an outdoor job; but not during the winter in Upstate NY.
The Top
With the level of discoloration on the top, I opted to use FUSION’s Double Espresso Gel Stain, which is a nearly opaque, tinted polyurethane. It leaves a nice, durable wood finish while blending in some of the color variations. While it isn’t necessary to sand before applying, I hand-sanded as many of the stains out of the top as I could for a more uniform final finish.
The Body
Homestead House Milkpaint carries a line of historic colors that look fantastic on antique pieces. The finish can also be very rustic and chippy, which gives an authentic modern farmhouse look without having to deal with furniture originally painted with dangerous, lead-based paint. I love blues, and have been wanting to try Rideau Blue on a large piece! Keep in mind, authentic milk-paint must be in powdered form. If it comes pre-mixed as a liquid then it is not actual milkpaint and contains all sorts of other fillers that are not part of historic, authentic milkpaint; this is often referred to as “simulated” milkpaint – and it won’t perform nearly as well as the real deal from Homestead House or Miss Mustard Seed.
One of the fun things about using milkpaint without adding a binder, is that it will perform uniquely and chip where it wants to in a natural, authentic way. It can also be used as a more solid finish by adding an acrylic bonding agent, however I like to see how it’s going to go on it’s own first.
After it dries, a light sanding reveals where the paint would like to stay and where it would like to randomly chip off. Application of a little FUSION hemp oil brings out the true depth of milkpaint color and enhances the chipped areas beautifully!
If you haven’t yet tried painting with milkpaint, it’s a must-try! It is capable of such a variety of finishes; a solid stain on raw wood, a solid rustic finish using binder, and a chippy farmhouse look – it’s so much fun! Lakeside Restoration and Vintage Matters will be offering milkpaint workshops in February, so keep an eye out on the events page on Facebook for your chance to play www.lakesiderestoration.net
After a thorough cleaning, the drawer interiors were in pretty nice shape for the age of this piece. I opted to re-hydrate them and polish the interior finish using FUSION’s new Lavender scented furniture wax. Not only does this wax brighten up and seal the wood, but it also smells incredible!!!
All of the products used to refinish this dresser are available at our shops, Vintage Matters at 7060 Ridge Road Sodus, NY and Lakeside Restoration 1833 Monroe Ave Rochester, NY – or at our online store at https://lakeside-restoration.myshopify.com/
Revive. Refresh. Restore. Lakeside Restoration.
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