Antique Dresser, Hutch & Mirror - January 16, 2010

Dresser, Hutch and Mirror (in rear) Before

This piece is my pride and joy and favorite "ReLoved" piece so far!  The antique dresser (pictured on left) was passed down to me from my Aunt Debbie, which used to be her mother-in-law's back in the 1940's.  It had been passed around between family members for the last 60 or 70 years, and finally it fell into my lap!  I was THRILLED to get my hands on it.  It also came with a mirror (pictured in rear) and nightstand (which I will be repainting very soon).  They were all painted a mustard yellow-brown color...which wasn't all that bad, and could be coming back into style.  But for what I wanted to use the pieces for, the color just wouldn't go.

The hutch (pictured on right) also came from my Aunt Debbie.  The hutch originally sat atop a narrow table, which I was using as a desk at the time, that she bought as a set in the 1990's.  When moving furniture around, Kyle and I haphazardly placed the hutch on this antique dresser to get it out of the way for a quick moment...then noticed that it fit on the dresser perfectly!!!!  Like it was made to go on it.  I thought this was no coincidence, and from then on, envisioned the two pieces together for life.  A sweet marriage of the 1940's and 1990's!

I was 6-months pregnant during this furniture makeover.  My husband Kyle (pictured) had to help me sand and prime these pieces.  Because of the age of the furniture, there was a great possibility that lead paint was used, which is very toxic to an unborn baby.  We both wore masks and did all the work outdoors...in January...Brrrrrr!!

These pieces of furniture would be our new baby boy's changing table and set of drawers to hold diapers, wipes, blankets, and all sorts of little baby hygiene necessities...a sort of changing and dressing station.  The shelves would hold photos of him and little memorabilia from his birth day.  It really "makes" his whole bedroom, a beautiful focal point that adds so much character.

We knocked the makeover out in about 5 hours.  I picked a creamy white color for the redo, a can of paint hardly touched that we had left over from when we repainted trim in the bedrooms.  I chose to buy new brushed chrome drawer pulls to spruce it up a bit...giving it a more modern look.

Dresser, Hutch and Mirror Before (Kyle helping with the sanding)

Dresser and Hutch After

The antique mirror was a fun task for me as a pregnant lady.  I had the idea to add a quote around the border, or rather a song lyric in this case.  I bought alphabet stamps from Michael's and mixed all sorts of bold colors to go around in a mismatched order.  The song I chose was "Forever Young" by Bob Dylan.  The song I danced to with my Dad at my wedding, and also a children's book that was given to me by my Mom for my son.  This song is more of a parent's prayer for their child, a tidbit for my son from his Mommy to read as he grows up.

Mirror After