project shabby chic dresser

My first decorating style was Rachel Ashwell's iconic "shabby chic" (founded in the early 90s).  This is the style that inspired me to start painting furniture and intensified my love for antiques and vintage pieces.  I thought it was brilliant the way she brought together British cottage and California chic.  The neutral pallet of creams, whites and pinks, slipcovers, and distressed finishes made for easy non-formal living.  I think it continues to attract a lot of people because it's an easy look to achieve, has lovely romantic, charming vibe, and is very comfortable.

After the stress of my qualifying exams, I refinished an entire bedroom including this dresser, a bed, vanity and stand up mirror, as well as a kitchen island.  Yes, I needed to decompress.  Pictured here is the dresser. Unfortunately I do not have any "before" pictures (if I can find pictures of the other pieces I will post them!).

I bought this dresser unfinished ($100) because I liked the lines and it had a lot of nice molding around the drawers.  I took the mirror off for painting and meticulously taped it out.  There were lots of curves so this took a while.  I removed all the drawers to work on separately.  Before painting I epoxy-glued 1 inch rope trim and various appliques, purchased at a wood-working store.  This particular store was going out of business so I just bought what I could without knowing exactly where everything would go.

Although difficult to see in these pictures, I added the rope trim to the right and left perimeter face.  The appliques were added to the mirror, and bottom and top large drawers.  I didn't prime, but instead painted two coats of antique white (from OSH) in a satin finish. Using 150 grit sand paper I sanded along the edges to give the piece a light distressed look.  I was pretty happy with the paint job so I didn't want to over do the distressing.  After wiping off the sawdust, I finished with wax (Minwax paste finishing wax) and rubbed this into the wood using a rag.  I like finishing with a wax because it seals the surface, gives a light luster-sheen, and the finish feels soft.  I completed the look with 1 1/4 inch pink glass knobs that I ordered online    from lookintheattic.com ($2.29 ea).  One final note--some of the drawers were sticky so I rubbed a beeswax candle on the bottom and top edges and they glided with ease.