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Refurbishing an Antique Dresser

By Amy

Restoring an antique dresser

 I have been slowly refurnishing our oldest child’s vacated bedroom.  

Last fall, I was at an auction and they couldn’t get a bid

on an antique dresser.  

I hadn’t intended to purchase a dresser,

but I just can’t pass up a bargain.  

My husband would argue about the bargain part

since he had to bring another vehicle to come pick it up!  

The dresser needed some a lot of wood repairs, 

so we left it at my parents’ house for my dad (the woodworker) to work on.


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I forgot to take a before picture, 

but it had many years worth of dirt built up on it

and lots of random things inside the drawers!

Scrub the Furniture:

On a nice warm day, I scrubbed it down good

 with some Murphy’s Oil Soap and water.  

We ended up getting out the hose so we could really rinse it.  

dresser before

There were some drawer handles missing, 

several drawer runners were complete worn off

drawers before

and the top was definitely not pretty!  

top before

Repair the Furniture:

When Dad was making these and many other repairs, 

he noticed that the drawer runners had been

previously repaired with square nails,

so the repair was most likely made no later than the early 1900’s.  

He also did some sanding on the dresser before any finish was added.  

This is about the time social distancing came into practice 

and apparently Mom was in a varnishing mood. 

So, she finished it for me. Thanks, Mom & Dad!

Stain & Varnish the Furniture:

Since the old finish was completely gone,

the wood color needed some evening out, 

and the repairs were also unfinished walnut wood,

varnish

she first applied a coat of MinWax PolyShades in Antique Walnut.  

Then, she added two coats of the MinWax Polyurethane.  

top drawer

The top looks sooo much better! 

top after

The drawers now slide in and out easily!  

Restored drawers

I think it turned out beautiful.  

Not bad for a $50 dresser!  

dresser after

Blessings~
Amy

Pin this Dresser Restoration Post!Restoring an antique dresser

 

Filed Under: Home Decor, Tutorials

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About Me

Our small farm is nestled amongst the Amish. We have a few cows, some sheep, a labradoodle, one calico cat, and lots of wide open spaces for our children to roam. I enjoy making primitive needle punch, wool creations, and learning how to spin the wool from our sheep. Read more...

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