Coastal Blue Dresser

People often ask me where I find my pieces. The honest answer is "everywhere". I'm seriously not dodging the question and refusing to reveal my sources when people ask. It's the honest truth! I literally go everywhere - hit yard sales, auctions, thrift stores, the side of the road, Facebook Marketplace, antique stores, Craig's List and fellow friends. I find them everywhere, and my latest project was no different.

I found it one day when I was on my way to Morgantown Market a few weeks ago. I had just picked up a large cold brew from Twin Valley Coffee and was happily cruising down Main Street in The Marshmallow (my white pickup truck) when I spied a yard sale off the side of the road. Specifically, I spied a depression era dresser at a yard sale off the side of the road.

Once I navigated Marshmallow into the itty bitty driveway, I went right up to the sellers and asked the price of the dresser. It was incredibly reasonable, so we loaded it up and I continued to Morgantown Market with a few minutes to spare.

The dresser was a bit banged up, but it had good bones and was a great candidate for a paint makeover. It had patches of chipping veneer and some trim pieces were missing altogether, so I did my best to patch what I could with wood putty. The piece isn't perfect but that doesn't bother me. Personally, I kind of like when my furniture has some flaws, because they are part of the history of the piece. Someone owned that item before me, and it has come to me pre-loved.

This dresser was probably built in the 1940's or 1950's, so it's been around the block.

When it came time to decide on the paint color, I opted for General Finishes classic navy, "Coastal Blue".

Not only is Coastal Blue gorgeous, it pairs incredibly well with Java Gel Stain, which is what I used on the top. Plus, I thought the darker color would help to minimize the appearance of the imperfections in the piece. Instead, your eye is drawn to the beautiful details.

The corner pieces are incredible!

The original hardware was beautiful, but incomplete. A knob and a handle were missing, so I added them to my hardware stash and installed these ring pulls.

The metal works well with the Coastal Blue and while they're reproductions, I think they still compliment the piece.

The top of the dresser refinished beautifully. Java Gel stain is one of my absolute favorite products to use by General Finishes. It always creates such a rich tone to raw wood and leaves you with an incredibly handsome finish.

When I was about halfway through this piece, a friend of mine came to visit. She took a peek downstairs in the workshop and saw the dresser. She instantly fell in love, so I finished it for her to put in her new home.

In addition to this dresser, my friend commissioned me to paint two nightstands that I repurposed from an old vanity in the same motif. Her bedroom is going to look amazing!

Now that this piece is finished, I have it safely stored upstairs and work is underway on the matching nightstands. Unfortunately, a mouse made his way into one of the drawers, so I have a carpenter repairing the drawer where he snuggled in for the night, and I've replaced the wood he ruined with his...well...droppings.

So while I'm de-mousing the nightstands, I'm also busy working on a 7 foot long church pew and finishing up an oak washstand. On top of that, my trip to Charleston, South Carolina is approaching this coming Thursday for the 2018 Haven Blogging Conference, so I've got a lot going on these next few days. It was nice to grab some down time and blog about this beautiful dresser, but now that I'm almost done typing, it's time to switch the laundry over, put some ice in my coffee and head downstairs to keep plugging away on projects.

If you like the look I created on this piece, you can shop for the General Finishes products I used from my booth at Morgantown Market. Here's a shopping list to help!

Shopping List: