Lovely Pair

Well, it seems like I have been working on these two pieces of furniture for a looong time but today at last they are finished and worth all of my blood sweat and tears! I purchased this single wardrobe and matching dresser from the Malawi Mercy charity shop and fell in love with their entwined carving which runs all around the wardrobe and down the legs of the dresser. The handles were also a gorgeous design if not a little dull, and the wardrobe had an authentic vintage rail to hang all your clothes on! The drawers run smooth and it was sturdy, solid wood - PERFECT right?

I worked on both the dresser and wardrobe at the same time and stages and in the same way except; for the dresser I used an electric hand-held sander, but for the wardrobe I tried out a liquid sanding agent which you just rub on and then buff off. I found both methods to be quicker than my usual slow sandpaper-by-the-hand-job and to be honest I can't tell which of the two I prefer as they gave the same results, but the electric sander did create a bit of a mess...

After they were sanded, I used a white water based primer/undercoat and a small roller and mananged to get two coats on each piece in one day. Next, I filled in some holes with filler and lightly sanded them as I think this stage really adds to the final result. I wanted a creamy grey shade for these beauties so I decided on Farrow and Ball 'french grey' and I am pleased with the results although it definately has a green tint to it. I applied about two or three layers of paint - it just depended on how the paint took to the wood at certain points. To finish it off and add protection against chips and scrapes, I applied two coats of beeswax which I find gives much better protection than any varnish that I have used.

I thought that the handles, hinges and screws could do with a little TLC so I gave them a coat of black gloss paint and gave them a good week to dry out before putting them back on. On top of this, the wardrobe rail was a little rusty, so used a cream to polish silver with and it cleaned right up! Finally, I applied little felt protectors onto the bottom feet of the wardrobe and took stood back to admire my work :). I think these two have a real romantic, girly, vintage feel to them compared to all the other furniture that I have restored.

The wardrobe and dresser are available to buy at Homemakers Discounts of Coleraine, or feel free to email me for any questions.

p.s a big thank you to dad for helping me on all the tricky bits on this one, and aaron for the photos X

I am linking up to these furniture parties;