Stunning Pewter Mid Century Gothic Dresser

This might be my favorite dresser make over yet. I briefly considered refunding my client and keeping it. :)

Gothic Pewter Dresser Mid Century

When I saw this dresser, I knew I had to transform it. It has the coolest architectural  lines! I am constantly on the lookout for unusual pieces with interesting details. Many of my aquisitions I list on Etsy in their original state noting they are to be customized. That's the great thing about Etsy. Artist love to do custom commissions for their clients. I like to ponder how I want to transform the piece, so prelisting it gives me plenty of time for that. My vision for this piece was either gloss white with gold accents or gloss black with silver or gold accents. But at last it sold, and when the new owner contacted me she was thinking pewter like a bookcase I had finished some time ago. She had a cool silver mirror and she sent photos.

It looked to be silver leafed to me with a heavy black glaze. So we decided to do the pewter as the main body color and silver leaf all the accent trim and add a black glaze. As always, photos do not do this piece justice. It is stunning! So this is the piece before.

Gothic Dresser Before

The process for this piece is similar to all pieces I transform. I scuff sanded the entire piece and wiped it down. I used a charcoal tinted primer and base coat.

It's a little creepy looking at this point. Don't worry, it get's worse. :) The previous bookcase had bits off red rubbed through so I randomly added some red splotches here and there.

Doesn't it look beautiful now? NOT!
Next, I applied leafing adhesive to all the ornate accents and after that dried about an hour, I started the silver. Here's another piece I silver leafed showing a bit more detail if needed. Silver leafed Chest of Drawers

Next I added a little beeswax to the red areas to aid in the distressing. Then I custom mixed my metallic pewter tint. It's a blend of a dark charcoal color and a warm silver. I coated the top, sides and flat parts of the drawers in this color. I used two coats. After that dried overnight, I used a sanding block to rub off some of the silver showing hints of red.

We used a black oil wash to tone down and darken the piece and to unify the colors.

I used oil because it seems to tone the leafing better than latex or acrylic glazes.
And we are still not done. The final step as always is a polyurethane or varnish. I used an oil satin varnish since we used an oil glaze. This last step really made the piece glow!

So if you've got a ugly, dated bedroom set that you've considered replacing, you should reconsider. Think green and upcycle it to an updated finish. Those old sets transform beautifully and they certainly don't make them that way anymore!

Silver Leafed 1900's Chest of Drawers

As you all know, I love to bling out some furniture! I found this fabulous old chest of drawers that needed a facelift. (Or maybe just a little "faux-tox".) 

As always, I wasn't sure what direction I wanted to take it. After weeks of consideration on how to revamp this piece, I decided "I yam what I yam, so I'm going silver foil with a slight tarnished look". I call it champagne leaf, because it's not bright silver, but a slightly warmer version like the color of fine champagne. The final picture is at the end but photos do not do this finish justice. It just glows with beauty in person! I sanded this piece in preparation for a tinted primer. I wanted little "cracks" of color to break through the silver in random areas, as well as where some of the square sheets come together. For me, the distressed feel adds to the beauty of the silver leafed finish. Some prefer a totally solid silver finish as well. To save a step, I used a brown tinted primer.

Brown primed dresser drawers



I then added my leafing size on this. Size is what dries sticky so the leafing sheets adhere to the surface. Oil tends to level and give a smoother finish. I use a water base since I prefer that aged, imperfect look. This goes on milky, but dries shiny and clear.

Dry size for foiling

Once dry, I added the silver sheets one at a time. Silver leafing is very shiny!

Once this step was complete, I added a chocolate toned oil glaze to tweek the silver tone. The hardware was in  decent shape, but I decided I just wanted it to be gloss black. I sprayed with a glossy black that was for direct to metal finishes. The final product!! Would love to hear what you think!

Antiqued silver leafed 1900's dresser

I currently have this dresser in my Blacklion Booth in Dilworth www.eeeklectictown.com  and in my Etsy store online http://www.etsy.com/listing/96779441/silver-leafed-chest-of-drawers-vintage. 

Love a Silver-leafed Bath Vanity

While looking for fabulous, new bath vanities I found this site http://www.trendir.com. They have some incredibly unique, bath ideas. Some very modern and contemporary vanities, sinks and cabinets, all very unique. Many of the finishes could be replicated to any existing bathroom. The lights, mirror and lines of the vanity are very simple. How awesome is the contrast of the brown and silver? Love IT!

Silver leafing the cabinet and adding the crystal knobs would be pretty simple for a professional. I love to do some silver leafing and gold leafing. It would also be a fun project for a motivated do it yourselfer. Be warned, it is messy. You will find silver flakes around your house for weeks! I haven't created a tutorial for leafing, but I found this awesome tutorial from Lindsay Ballard. This is from her Living with Lindsay Blog. http://livingwithlindsay.com/2010/03/teach-me-tuesday-how-to-silver-leaf-a-table.html
The walls could easily be achieved by starting with a flat brown paint, then picking your favorite damask stencil to add some beautiful silver pattern. My favorite resource for stencils is Royal Design Studios http://www.royaldesignstudio.com. They have a huge selection of very current stencils and supplies.
Choose your favorite silver paint, but don't get one with a steel, or blue undertone and you'll be on your way to a fantastic, new metropolitan bathroom!