Today’s before and after, while it doesn’t feature paint, is a truly *magical* DIY story.
Tarah, a Stylish Patina fan from far away submitted this project to us, a salvaged barn dresser. Read Tarah’s story below!
“I’m from northern Minnesota and after fifteen months remodeling my Grandma’s 100 year old farm house we moved in, got married, and live and breathe DIY!” We’re already sold, Tarah!
“This old dresser was a find out in the barn, I loved how big and heavy it felt and I had the suspicion that it was probably walnut. I don’t know which one of my grandparents’ this piece belonged to but I am so glad I was able to keep it and make it beautiful again!”
“I sanded the whole thing down instead of stripping it and it just about killed me, definitely should have stripped all of the funk and gunk off of it first. I felt like my arms were gonna fall off. I just sanded. And sanded. And sanded. *facepalm* The whole dresser probably has over ten hours of just me sanding into it. However, in the end, once I saw those beautiful tiger stripes across the drawers, my heart just soared and it was so worth it!” said Tarah.
Talk about serious commitment to DIY.
And, here’s Tarah’s beautiful restored dresser.
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Tarah, you did a beautiful job of restoring this piece! The grain is beautiful and deserves to be shown in all its glory. It appears to be quarter sawn oak. You were very wise in sanding, and not stripping the finish (I feel your pain, I’ve done it). Many times, the drawers are covered with a thin veneer and stripping can cause it to pop off or bubble. It’s not easy to repair. We built a house several years ago, and we put quarter sawn oak cabinets in the master bath. I have an old chest of the same wood that I wanted to use for storage in there and they all look great together. Here’s a little tutorial describing this cut of wood . Treasure this piece and its history.
http://www.hardwooddistributors.org/blog/postings/what-is-the-difference-between-quarter-sawn-rift-sawn-and-plain-sawn-lumber/
Beautiful job. Know you are proud to have that finished and looking so beautiful.