Classy Rustic Dresser

 I bought this dresser at an estate sale and paid more than I usually do. I could tell it was a quality antique, but the varnish had gone bad and create a weird ripply texture. I knew I wanted to strip down the top and restain it, and strip down the drawers and leave as much of that wonderful wood as I could. I love the 2 tones the drawers have, which are actually different woods, and the raised detail. 

I will admit now that I kept this beauty for myself and it is now in my entryway. I just love this piece too much and knew I would regret selling it. So this baby is ALL MINE!

 Here you can see the weird texture of the varnish. I have never seen anything like it, but I guess it was typical with this furniture maker in this era.

I wish I knew all the different woods used.

 So in this picture I already stripped down the top, and I believe it was mahogany. I painted the body Old white by Annie Sloan.

The drawers were very hard to strip down with all the raised detail. I worked hard not to damage anything.

 After it was finished I put clear wax over the top to protect it.