Turquoise Dresser with Damask Detail

I realize I’ve been blogging heavily on furniture projects lately, but when you see this Turquoise Dresser with Damask Detail on top,  you’ll understand why I couldn’t wait to show it off.  I LOVE how it turned out.  It’s kind of bold, kind of classic, and it’s definitely a statement piece.  I guarantee, you won’t find another one like it anywhere.

Just a week ago, it was a diamond in the rough, banished to to the back of a thrift store.  An old, clunky television was placed on top of it, and shoppers passed it by, never giving it a second look.  But I showed up in the nick of time and heard it’s desperate plea, “Paint me, paint me!”   

It was a fantastic score.  Any time you can find french provincial furniture in decent shape, grab it!  You can’t go wrong.  These pieces are timeless, and painted in a bold color, they’re in high demand.  This particular dresser was in excellent shape.  It only had a couple of scratches from regular wear-n-tear; nothing that a little sanding couldn’t fix.

Once I got it all sanded, I was ready to paint.  I chose a bold turquoise color, because I wanted it to really stand out.  Plus, I really liked the handles and knew I wasn’t going to paint or change them, and the white would just pop next to a deep turquoise.

Once the drawer fronts and body of the dresser were painted, I rolled on a charcoal color on the top of the dresser, and trimmed out all the details in white using a fine paint brush.  

Believe it or not, painting those detail grooves isn’t as easy as it looks.  If you’re a perfectionist, like I am, it takes a really steady hand, and a lot of patience.  You have to be careful not to get any paint on the outer portion that you’ve already finished, and you wind up doing lots of touch-up painting.

With this project, I did something I have never done before.  I actually STENCILED.  If you know anything about me, I am the “Anti-Stenciler.”  I pride myself in doing everything freehand.  And, in fact, I kind of hate the fact you can buy vinyl cut-outs of things that used to be painted, because I feel that not only puts artists out of work, it does away with one of a kind artwork.  But, I was recently asked if I could stencil a different project, and I needed something to practice on.  My original plan was to cover this entire top in a damask pattern.  But I stopped at three because I thought it was just perfect like this…and it turns out, stenciling isn’t that easy. (Maybe I’ll blog on stenciling in a future post.)

For now, I just want to enjoy the fruits of my labor.  This Turquoise Dresser with Damask Detail is gorgeous.  It really is just a matter of seeing the potential and investing a little elbow grease.  There’s no way this piece is going unnoticed now.