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Saturday, October 13, 2012

Refinished Mid Century Modern Dresser/Credenza


I have no idea what this piece of furniture is called... I've heard so many different names.  A dresser?  A credenza?  A sideboard?  I think sideboards have cabinets so it's probably not that.  I'm using it in my bedroom so we'll call it a dresser.  Whatever it is, I'm in love with it.

Here is how I found it 
$50 at the Salvation Army store.  Not bad, right?  Well, the finish is bad.  It's in pretty rough shape.  Not to mention the color reminds me a little of Snooki.


I decided I would restain and poly it rather than painting it.  I had done a little research on MCM furniture and decided all the collectors might be onto something with maintaining the natural wood finish.  This is after I painted an $18 Broyhill Brasilia headboard I had found.  Turns out they're worth some money if they're in good condition.  Live and learn.  I do love that headboard in white, though.


I used Citristrip to take the finish off.

One word:  messy!!!  A few more words:  a lot of hard work!!!  A neighbor saw me working and said, "it will be worth it though".  I wasn't so sure.  Here are the drawers after being stripped

Then I sanded it.  Oh my gosh, the wood.  I don't know if you can tell just how beautiful it is in this picture after being sanded.
I just kind of rolled my eyes about the MCM furniture purists, but after seeing the quality of wood and craftsmanship that went into this piece, I'm a believer!

I used a dark walnut stain, trying to keep it close to the original finish (just a tad darker and a tad less Snooki).

I was really nervous doing this and thought for sure I was going to end up destroying the piece.  It turns out I'm really happy with the final results!

And then I sealed it with this

I really liked the product.  It cleaned up with water and I think the finish is beautiful.  I can't believe I didn't mess it up!!!

So here is the dresser in our bedroom.

up close

and from the top

I'm so proud of myself.  I'm allowed to say that, right?  Well, it's my birthday today so maybe just today I can say that.  I just didn't think I'd ever be capable of something like this.

Here's the process I used, in case you're curious
wash the dresser down
apply Citristrip
wait overnight then scrape with plastic scrapers
wash off remaining stripper
have husband get into crevices of dresser to remove stuff I'm too lazy to get to

sand with 100 grit
wipe down
sand with 220 grit
wipe down
let dry overnight
wipe down with tack cloth
brush on stain
after 15 minutes wipe off stain with cloth
wait overnight
3 coats poly, sanding with 400 grit and wiping down in between coats

Thanks so much for stopping by!
How do you feel about painted furniture vs stained furniture?  Do you say paint it all no matter the history of the piece?  Do you like all painted wood in a room or a mix?  Is it a sin I painted that headboard in my room?  Let me know what you think in the comments!
Blessings,
Jamie

This post is linked here:  Today's Creative Blog Blue Cricket Design Kurtz Corner Mommy by Day Crafter by Night Cherished Bliss Lines Across My Face Southern Lovely Bear Rabbit Bear French Country Cottage Craft Junkie Too DIY Home Sweet Home Saved by Love Domestically Speaking Funky Junk Interiors Homemaker on a Dime Eisy Morgan The Answer is Chocolate Making the World Cuter Craft-O-Maniac lolly jane 504 Main I Heart Naptime Singing Three Little Birds mad in crafts House of Hepworths Somewhat Simple Chic on a Shoestring Keeping it Simple Be Different Act Normal Sew Can Do Sew Chatty Pinkapotamus The Girl Creative Flamingo Toes Tatertots and Jello Sisters of the Wild West Reasons to Skip the Housework Giggles Glitz and Glam Tip JunkieThe Trendy Treehouse Ladybug Blessings Night Owl Crafting Tea Rose Home My Girlish Whims Allie Makes Gluesticks Thrifty 101 Momnivores Dilemma A Little Knick Knack Miss Mustard Seed Freckled Laundry kojo designs A vision to remember Primitive and Proper 733 Rook no 17 Home Stories A to Z Naptime Crafters Whipperberry delightful order blissful and domestic elizabeth and co diy by design gingersnap crafts>my repurposed life

49 comments:

  1. beautiful job!!!! i love citristrip for removing finishes!

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  2. That is just beautiful! And you can say you did a good job, birthday or not. Hope it's been a happy one, BTW. That is hard to pull off, hubs did it decades ago so I've seen the work that goes into it. I even assisted with scraping paint off a roll top. Very boring, painstaking work because you can't use stripper; it'll remove adhesive holding the slats to the backing that makes the top roll. I digress. Anyway, kudos. Janet

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  3. Your dresser looks great! Stopping by from the Sunday Social with Sasse Life. Just wanted to say Hello! I am a new follower:)
    xoxo
    Heather
    www.HeatherlyLoves.com

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  4. Oh it looks gorgeous! The color really brings out all the prettiness in the wood. I know it was hard work but it really was so worth it!

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  5. Wow you are brave! I still have my unopened paint stripper just like yours but avoiding a simple door redo like the plague! love how your project turned out - would love for you to share in my Sunday link party :) Impatiently Crafted Sundays :) http://www.impatientlycrafty.com

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  6. Great refinish. I love how it looks. I have a link party on Wednesdays, and I would love it if you would link this and any other posts. It is called Wednesdays Adorned From Above Link Party. It runs from Wednesday to Sundays.
    www.adornedfromabove.com
    I hope to see you there. I am your newest follower, and I would love for your to follow me also. Have a great Day.
    Debi Bolocofsky
    Adorned From Above
    www.adornedfromabove.com

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  7. fabulous job on the credenza (or whatever its really called hee hee) and i love the headboard in white too

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  8. Happy Belated Birthday! You did a great job on refinishing this. I myself am a paint over it kinda girl and absolutely detest the "snooki" finish. Hee hee. That was too funny. Love your reference.

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  9. It looks great! I love the dark stain, and the beautiful wood grain.

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  10. You are DEFINITELY allowed to say you are proud of yourself! That's a lot of work and very worth the effort. It's gorgeous!

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  11. The Credenza looks so nice once finished.. I seen your credenza via the a creative princess party ,You did a Great job.. Cindy

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  12. Really really beautiful!! All that hard work has really paid off!

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  13. It turned out gorgeous! So glad I found your link at 504 Main. Megan

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  14. This looks amazing! I love that you stained it rather than painting it. I found you from DIY by Design :)

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  15. You did an amazing job! Would love if if you linked up on my blog hop www.w-t-fab.com/search/label/bloghop. Also let me know if you'd like to follow each other!

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  16. I love it!!! It's gorgeous now! The wood grain is incredible, so glad it's not covered in paint! I have a hard time painting over beautiful grains as well. But then paint does wonders on some pieces... I like the headboard. :)

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  17. Hi,

    This turned out so amazing. I recently picked up a new set that is similar, but the finish is damaged on top from having glass set on top with little rubber feet that left marks in the wood as well as some watermarks etc. The set I have is veneer, as is most of my mcm furniture. Was this totally solid wood or wood with a wood veneer? Thanks for any info! I am just wondering if your method might work for me redoing the top of my dressers so long as I am careful with the veneer.

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    Replies
    1. The top of it is veneer. You can see in the before pic from the top the veneer is chipped. Even the chipped part took the stain just fine!! Good luck with yours :)

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  18. Jamie! This is INSANE, I am SUPER jealous!!! Great job on the refinishing, I cant wait to check out the rest of your blog!

    Love your guts
    mandi

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  19. Hi Jamie! This turned out wonderfully! I love the dark stain. Ive been searching for a piece like this to replace our curret TV stand and I imagine my results looking very similar to yours. I actually think whether to paint or stain totally depends on the piece, if that makes any sense. Sometimes you see something and it screams paint. Other times a good staining is in order, you know? By the way I LOVE your headboard. That piece totally screamed paint!

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  20. I'm over from Pinterest... Lovely job! I'll be referring to this for my credenza update in the next few weeks for sure.
    {lamourcheznous.wordpress.com}

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  21. Love the way it turned out. I am getting ready to re finish a MCM bar/cabinet I got at a thrift store yesterday. It is my first time and I'm a little nervous. I think painting is fine, depending on the piece. I've done it. I painted a table chartreuse sp? But it had a plastic laminate on top. No way to remove that dastardly thing.
    Did you use a palm sander or just sand by hand?

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    Replies
    1. I just sanded it by hand... it was a lot of work, but I think it was worth it! Getting into all the crevices was definitely the hardest part, but you just have to push through it. You'll do great!

      Delete
  22. Hello. I'm curious what kind of finish you ended up with at the end. It looks like it's kind of satin? I'm looking to finish some projects I've got, and I'm trying to figure out what's the best middle ground between traditional and long lasting. And if you want to paint a piece more power to you.

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  23. Absolutely NO to paint on good wood particularly on Mid Century pieces that are walnut,in fact they should not be stained either. That is the color they are supposed to be. Make that no paint on any Mid century pieces. NEVER on any piece that has birdseye or burl MCM or otherwise. Really you should never paint a piece unless it is in beaten broken and gouged to all hell shape that requires putty to repair it. JSYK, that WAS a $1000 headboard that you ruined with white paint. It is not about 'purist' it is about painting over someones art work. would you paint over a Picasso? Not likely so don't paint the furniture, it is sculpture.

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  24. Absolutely NO to paint on good wood particularly on Mid Century pieces that are walnut,in fact they should not be stained either. That is the color they are supposed to be. Make that no paint on any Mid century pieces. NEVER on any piece that has birdseye or burl MCM or otherwise. Really you should never paint a piece unless it is in beaten broken and gouged to all hell shape that requires putty to repair it. JSYK, that WAS a $1000 headboard that you ruined with white paint. It is not about 'purist' it is about painting over someones art work. would you paint over a Picasso? Not likely so don't paint the furniture, it is sculpture.

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  25. I have a question for you!! I just stripped a piece using citristrip. Several different colors so maybe different woods? Before you sanded where the drawers, top, sides the same or different colors? I really want to stain not paint but I'm discouraged! You did an amazing job!!!!!

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  26. Great job!!! I also have a MCM credenza, very similar to this one. Although the top is not wood, it's laminate. Not sure how I should refinish my piece, what should I do about the top laminate piece?

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  27. This is a newbie question (I'm trying to restore an old dresser and it's the first time I've ever done this!) but did you sand by hand, or use an electric sander?

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  28. Refinished Mid Century Modern Dresser/Credenza. I have no idea what this piece of furniture is called... mmidmodernfurniture.blogspot.com

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