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{Before & After} – refinished antique vanity

By on February 22, 2012 in before and after

This was one of those pieces that makes you super excited to get done because you know it will be awesome!!  But, it had some issues that werent too fun to fix – but it turned out great :)

Before… As you can see on the one side, the wooden veneer is all crazy.  My client wanted the top stained and it was too far gone to try and repair.  So i had to remove the tops on both the sides so the stain would turn out the same and then in the middle i had to cover that part with a new piece of wood as well to make sure that all 3 stained parts would match each other.

That was the tricky part – getting the 2 sides off was a big ol pain, and then the middle even more because i had to remove the original molding and replace it with new stuff.  Then i had to router the edges - doesn’t seem so bad now, but it was work!!  There were a lot of little things that were tricky that made this vanity take a little longer than usual.

After…painted Summer White by SW, distressed and glazed.  Normally im not a huge fan of glaze over white or cream paint, but this one looks perfect with the glaze.  It gave it an aged look that worked with all the imperfections.  I didnt go crazy sanding trying to get it perfectly smooth because i knew it was gonna be glazed and i wanted the glaze to settle in all the old chipped paint and cracks and crevices.  

My daughter Zailee had lots of fun with the vanity while it was waiting to be picked up!  It would have been a fun piece to keep but we didnt have any room for it.  I had to include this pic because its too cute!!

The 411

paint color – Sherwin Williams Summer White in a gloss

Glaze – Minwax Dark Walnut Stain (straight stain, not mixed with a glazing medium)

Clear coat – Varathane Brand poly in a gloss

Top Stain – Kona by Rustoleum

2 top knobs – Hobby Lobby, other knobs were the originals

Post by Sausha

21 Responses to {Before & After} – refinished antique vanity

  1. The Open Window February 22, 2012 at 10:30 pm #

    Such a cute vanity and I love the color. Great job

    Reply
  2. Jeneal Morfin February 22, 2012 at 10:51 pm #

    Is it for sale? How Much? Its gorgeous..

    Reply
    • Sausha @ {Sweet Pickins} February 28, 2012 at 8:26 pm #

      sorry, that one was already sold :)

      Reply
  3. Fiona February 23, 2012 at 1:10 am #

    hi Sherry – it’s so pretty (and your girl too!)
    hope you are doing well. love seeing all your painting projects!
    cheers Fiona

    Reply
  4. Tam February 23, 2012 at 5:20 am #

    Beautiful vanity & daughter!

    Reply
  5. Michelle February 23, 2012 at 7:22 am #

    love it! and your little girl is a cutie!

    Reply
  6. Bliss February 23, 2012 at 8:24 am #

    I love it. Fav is that you did a dark top. For me that look is a great way to compromise over painting something.

    ~Bliss~

    Reply
  7. Chelsea February 23, 2012 at 1:14 pm #

    Wow! You are so absolutely talented! I really love vanities, I finally got one for my birthday two years ago!

    Reply
  8. Jamie February 23, 2012 at 2:58 pm #

    Absolutely Beautiful! Tell me you’ve tried Annie Sloan Chalk Paint!..It’s amazing!!
    If not..you should….you will love it!

    Reply
    • Sausha @ {Sweet Pickins} February 28, 2012 at 8:25 pm #

      i havent!! im probably the only furniture painter that hasnt!! I will one day!

      Reply
  9. Angie February 23, 2012 at 9:05 pm #

    It’s gorgeous!! Great job :)

    Reply
  10. Corynne February 24, 2012 at 9:01 am #

    You do such beautiful work! I’m always taking note of what you do so when I get time I can tackle some of the many projects waiting for me in the basement (hubs will be happy too). Thanks you for all that you share with us!

    Reply
  11. Sandra Licher February 24, 2012 at 11:32 am #

    Dresser is REALLY nice but your daughter is just precious! Thank you for sharing all your hard work and beautiful results!

    Reply
    • Sausha @ {Sweet Pickins} February 28, 2012 at 8:24 pm #

      ahh – thanks :)

      Reply
  12. loving momma @ happy as a lark March 5, 2012 at 7:31 pm #

    I am amazed by your beautiful furniture redos!! I am a follower of yours & am giving you the “Liebster Award”. Visit my blog to see how you can pass it on :)

    Reply
    • Sausha @ {Sweet Pickins} March 19, 2012 at 7:52 pm #

      thank you so much, you are very sweet!!!

      Reply
  13. Francine March 8, 2012 at 7:35 pm #

    Hi Sausha!

    I absolutely love your blog, I just discovered it, you have inspired me to try my own DIY furniture projects for my new apartment! This vanity is one of my favourite (I’m from Canada so that’s how we spell favourite, even though my spell check wants me to change it to favorite lol) pieces that you have done. I have a question for you, when you painted the mirror part of the vanity how did you cover the mirror so that it didn’t get paint on it? Or does it pop out?

    Reply
    • Sausha @ {Sweet Pickins} March 19, 2012 at 7:44 pm #

      thanks so much!!

      most the time the mirrors just pop out, otherwise i would have to tape it up before painting (ugghhh!!!)

      Reply
  14. oralia March 17, 2012 at 3:55 pm #

    Sausha, what kind of cloth do u wipe off ur glaze with??? Does distressing come before glazing or after??

    Reply
    • Sausha @ {Sweet Pickins} March 18, 2012 at 4:39 pm #

      i just use paper towels so i can throw them away. And i distress before glaze

      Reply
  15. Jennifer April 9, 2012 at 8:24 am #

    Do you have a blog on how you distress furniture?

    Thanks!
    Jen

    Reply

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