Bee reached out to me many months ago about this piece and what it would cost to restore it. I could only go based on the pics she sent and provided a quote and a scope of work. To my surprise she gifted me the piece.
When I picked it up I really liked what I saw. It was a well used antique that had seen many years of service.
After bringing it home, it was clear just how loved the piece was. There was a lot of chipped and cracked veneer. All the hardware was there but missing screws and the drawers needed work. The biggest challenge was the desk top was missing a mirror that rested at the edge of the table embedded in the frame. This left a 1 inch gap at the back. Therefore, lots to think about and to tackle at a later date.
Fast forward to this week when I got tired of looking at the piece and started working on it. Maybe it was the warmer weather but I certainly saw this table as one that housed plants and flowers on it. A wise friend of mine envisioned this piece being a focal point in a plant store. All of this inspired me to see this piece in yellow. As soon as I saw Prairie Sunset by MFP, I knew that was the colour. What can I say..."They call me mellow yellow!!!" 🎶 🎵
The goal was to sand the table tops to their natural grain and stain them. I wanted to stain the bottom front legs as well knowing I was going to keep the original hardware in the cast iron brown. Unfortunately after doing this, the wood on the tops were all different grains and different colours so I had to abandon that idea.
After finishing the piece off in the yellow, it was too dull so I figured I would use some antiquing glaze from Fusion. This would add a rustic vibe to the piece and make some of the details and imperfections pop. I initially thought this would be the direction I would go before I started and it turned out to be an excellent choice. Goes to show that you should follow your gut.
After sanding the front legs I knew no matter what stain I used it would come out dark but needed it to be dark enough to match the handles. I opted to use Provincial stain and it matched well. After the stain, I protected the legs with a clear coat of satin Varathane.
Now for the backplate. I used some cut pieces of fence board to do a template for the middle section of the piece. I used the template on a wood bed rail I had lying around from a bed that I made years ago. It now came down to how high we wanted the backplate to be. We went with a lower profile and I think it did the trick. Once cut, with 2 coats of paint, I applied the glaze and drilled the backplate on.
Just in time for earth day and the sunnier days ahead, we hope you like the piece as much as we do. This table is definitely a conversation piece that is very versatile. We see this in a sunroom housing many plants, as a entrance table, a vanity, as well as a desk. The possibilities are endless.
Please see before and after pics.
Dimensions: 51"Lx30"Tx18"D
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