In my opinion, there is a difference between refinishing and restoring furniture. In fact what I enjoy most actually doesn't fall into either category. I like to give old furniture new life, maybe even re-purpose or upcycle, so the terminology of the project, is really not as important as creating something that you love.
In this case, I saw a craigslist add for a free dresser, no picture, and it was sitting curbside. I thought, "hey, if I can cram it into the back of my Mazda 3, this may be fun." On a side note, a Mazda 3 with the seats down, functions a lot like a pickup truck. Not as convenient, but I did get the dresser home.
 |
| This is what it looked like out of the car |
 |
| First I removed the drawers |
 |
| The back was in rough shape, so it was removed as well |
 |
| Part of the original plan was to create a new back, I traced the old one onto a new piece of wood, filling in any missing corners with proper right angles |
 |
| Then PAINT PAINT PAINT |
 |
| The top "drawer" is actually a fold out shelf which I thought was really cool. so I left it. |
 |
| I thought it could use shelves where the drawers used to be. |
 |
| A nice walnut stain can really transform a piece of wood |
 |
| now its starting to look like something new |
 |
| This is the inside of the fold down top. It needs to be painted |
 |
| I used chalkboard paint, as I thought if it were a bar, one could store recipes there |
 |
| Something had to be done about the knobs though, they didn't really work with the piece anymore |
 |
| There thats better. |
So for me, restoring this piece meant giving it a new purpose and life. Refinishing it too, or upcycling. but like I said, as long as you love the process, and like how it comes out, what you call it is not all that important!
