This summer was a swell one for finding sweet vintage furniture and decor on the side of the road. The five chairs I found in June weren’t the only highlights – I also found a mid-century modern dresser that was the perfect size for our guest room.
The only catch? It needs some serious TLC.
But back to the find. I was on the road home from the wine store when I saw this baby sitting on the curb with some garbage. I slid to a halt (safely, of course) and checked it out. I wasn’t sure if it was rescuable, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to lug it home and give it a closer look. Worst case I could always pop it back onto the curb at our house.
You should have seen me trying to get that dresser into my car all alone. It was much heavier than I expected, but of course I persevered. Once home, I cleaned it up and sprayed all the cracks and crevices with bug killer, then let it sit outside for a day before bringing it inside. (I take this step to hopefully avoid bringing new pests into the house!)
It went right where I’d envisioned it in the guest room.
I attempted to make it presentable when a good friend stayed the night, that’s why there’s a piece of chevron fabric draped over it. Fortunately my friend understands and knows me well enough that she wasn’t horrified by it’s pre-makeover condition.
The top, which is the plastic-y veneer so common in mid-century furniture, needs to be replaced or painted. This photo doesn’t do justice to the stains and scratches and general plastic-y feel.
The rest is made of a wooden veneer which is also in rough shape. The drawers have no pulls and in some spots the wood is splintered off. I’m not sure how I’ll fill or work around these big gaps, but there’s gotta be a way.
Do you know if wood putty is strong enough to fill that gap in the left side of the photo? It’s an edge that sticks out between two drawers.
Regardless, the cheap-o construction of veneers and plywoods means that there’s no harm in trying a fun paint treatment on it! This is the one I’m dying to try, all thanks to my ombré obsession.
Credit for the ombré dresser goes to Norske Interior’s feature on Consept Constance.
And now that I’ve decided to go with simple light gray walls instead of the bold teal accent wall, that means that I can get away with more bold furniture statements such as this one! I am so stoked.
Did you have any sweet roadside finds or thrifting excursions this summer? Share a link in the comments below!
5 Comments
What a great find! It’ll look so amazing once it’s all cleaned up! I don’t know if wood filler would work for that space, but check out bondo products. I know that sometime this summer/fall they were releasing a home improvement line to fix problems like that one.
I would try something like this to repair that missing chunk – it will not be perfect but I think if you get this companies catalog they have more options in the print version – different types of repair putty, etc. Great find! http://www.vandykes.com/epoxy-putty-sticks/p/208365/
I love it Jane! What a great find.
That roadside find. You might consider not filling in the missing bits……. but sanding them down so that they are fit to paint. Shabby chic is sometimes as good as getting something perfect! But like you, I do the same thing from time to time. Our home is full of homemades and bargain buys and finds, painted up to look good, so I am with you all the way. Good luck with it, and hope you find some “just perfect” knobs for it!
[…] was just enough room for two twin beds, a small dresser that I found on the side of the road, and a chair. While waiting to refinish it, I covered the […]