I’m so excited to finally be able share this before and after with you! Let’s just say it’s been some time in coming.
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| There is something really lovely about fading roses, don’t you think? |
You may recall that the recently painted and wallpapered chest of drawers that was previously in my dressing room had been moved to the living room to house our DVDs. This is because I’d purchased a larger chest of drawers to take it’s place.
And you may also recall from my previous post about the moodboard for my dressing room, that my original plan was to paint said future purchased chest of drawers a lovely coral colour.
This was the original ebay ad image. It looked brown in the picture however when I got it home, it was actually closer to a dark reddish orange. For Β£30, I wasn’t really going to argue because it was getting the paint treatment regardless.
Well, when I finally brought this large rather unfortunate-looking dresser home with me, I became suddenly unsure about my paint choice.
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| Chest of drawers before – the colour is more accurate here. |
I lived with her in her rather unfortunate state for around 6 weeks before I made a decision.
The conversation went something like this….
Me: “I’m going to paint you a wonderful coral colour!”
Chest of Drawers: “Erm. I’m already orange.”
Me: “No, I’m not going to paint you orange. Coral is LOVELY. You’re gonna love it!”
Chest of Drawers: “But it might as well be orange. I’m ALREADY orange. I’ve been orange for YEARS.”
Me: “Coral is NOT orange! It’s more like a pinky-orange… Anyway – why are you arguing with me? This was my intention all along. You’re going to be coral. That’s all there is to it.”
Chest of Drawers: “Coral, orange, whatever.” (Chest of Drawers sulks)
Me (sighing): “Oh okay….I’ll think about it.”
Chest of Drawers (suddenly brightening): “Woohoo!”
And so after 6 weeks of debate, I gave in. This dresser didn’t want to be coral. This dresser wanted to be turquoise. A lovely pale turquoise. The decision had been made.
And so I took to a weekend of sanding, applying a coat of undercoat and then a coat of primer…
And I took the gorgeous handles that were a bit sad and tarnished…
And shined them up all pretty using Brasso.
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| I love that one handle has a different pull. That’s character people! |
And then I painted the chest of drawers with 2 coats of a lovely pale turquoise by Dulux called ‘Inky Pool 4‘.
| The colour on my screen is reading more blue here but anyway… |
You may also recall from my dressing room moodboard post that I was looking at purchasing a few lovely gold accessories from An Angel At My Table. Well, I bought them.
And this sad little room is finally, after weeks and weeks, starting to come together. It’s not the moodboard dream YET. But we are finally a step or two into the journey.
So do you wanna see the whole thing? Well of course you do…
Here she is.
Those lovely handles up close and personal…
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| Not sure why it looks a bit orangey in this pic (think some clothing reflected in it’s shininess) but the handles are most definitely gold! |
How about a few detail shots?
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| The tray is from An Angel at my Table and the middle tin is a candle from Anthropologie. |
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| The jewelry holder is also from An Angel at my Table. |
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| Put a bird on it!!! |
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| The ‘print’ was a card from the lovely Meera of First Sense* and is by Gavin Harrison. I love it! The frame is from Homebase. |
I also purchased this little round gold tray which at the moment, is living on top of the boxes-covered-in-fabric ensemble but will eventually be on the Ikea Billy bookshelves that have yet to be purchased.
And now, with the further addition of gold in this room, I’m even more desperate to purchase this big gorgeous mirror to go above the chest of drawers.
| Graham and Green |
Despite the mirror’s rather extortionate price tag (It’s Β£229 on another site), I am comforted by the fact that the chest of drawers makeover (not including the accessories) only cost me Β£50 – Β£30 for the dresser, Β£18 for the turquoise paint and Β£2 for the Brasso – everything else I already had to hand. So a splurge may be in order! ;)
I’m kind of glad I lived with the dresser before making a rash decision regarding it’s colour. And sometimes I guess you just have to be prepared for a piece of furniture to make the decision for you.
So what do you think? Do you think it was the right decision to go with this colour or do you think I should have stuck to my guns and gone for coral? Have you had any adventures in furniture conversation? Are you getting into antique gold in a big way like I am? Do share in the comments…
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*By the way, speaking of the lovely Meera of First Sense, do you know she’s hosting a giveaway of some artwork/jewelry by the equally lovely and talented Michele of Hello Lovely? I have one of Michele’s pieces already in my dining room and the detail of her mix media work is just stunning. I promise you’ll love it.
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I’ve shared this post here…
I’ve been featured here!
it looks beautiful, a day well spent and I love all your other pretty things!
It turned out great! Turquoise and gold is one of my favorite color combinations! And I pretty much love anything gold these days. Nice to see your dressing room come together. And I LOVE that mirror. You must buy it so that I can live vicariously through you!
oh i think you made the right choice! it is beautiful!
sooooo the right choice!! omg you transformed this piece and gave it a brand new personality that i happen to adore. it's ocean-y and peaceful and truly chic. the whole dressing room looks fabulous. loving this shot of the jewelry holder and how the blue dresser top is stunning with the gold.<br /><br />think i may have a new obsession and it's called the mirror you want. omg, red, that
and another thing.<br /><br />i want to feature you next month, yes? hope you say yes!<br /><br />michele
Oooooooh there are SO many things in this post that are exciting me! The chest of drawers looks <i>gorgeous</i>, totally the right decision to go for pale turquoise, it looks so right there. And well done on the brilliant bargain!<br /><br />The stuff from AAAMT is so lovely, I want too!! Your coral roses are beautiful and the candle looks so sweet. (How are the Anthropologie candles for scent
Your chest of drawers looks wonderful. You did a beautiful job on it and you have it decorated beautifully as well. I am now a follower and have your blog button. I invite you to join me as well and grab my button too. Hugs, Gayle<br />http://atastefultouch.blogspot.com
Oh wow that color is gorgeous! I love anything turquoise! And the gold handles really go well with the color of the dresser. Your decorations surrounding the dresser are also great.
I think the entire space is looking lovely already. And that mirror? It would complete the entire package. Well done!
What a great job you did on the chest of drawers and it does look better in the turquoise colour. Very pretty. I found you and am following you through Debbie's Newbie Party and hope to visit you more often. Please stop by my blog and perhaps follow me. I would love that. I live in Canada but shout across to Stockport and say hello to my bro LOL. Hugs, Chris
Beautiful makeover! I'm glad the dresser asserted itself – it's stunning in turquoise! The flowers are the perfect pop of coral to complement the turquoise dresser. Love the vignette on top, too! Terrific makeover, and a fun post with the dialogue between you and the dresser. Thanks for sharing.<br /><br />I'm hosting my monthly <a href="http://
I still think the coral could have looked amazing but I love this shade of turquoise, and it so gorgeous with the gold hardware. Thanks for your lovely comment on my blog, off to explore some more of yours :)
I LOVE what you did with this dresser!! The aqua and gold are PERFECT together!! I love your entire cloest space!! I featured you today!<br /><br />http://craptastickatie.blogspot.com/2011/10/five-feature-friday-14.html
The turquoise is beautiful, and the old "new" handles look really nice. Your closet space is great. I'd love it if you'd link it to Sunday's Best party.
Oh this is gorgeous!! I would LOVE it if you would link this up at my turquoise lovin' party going on right now!! http://www.sweetlittlegals.com/2011/10/turquoise-lovin-10.html
What a makeover! And don't you just love that Brasso stuff! It's great. And the styling you did here with all the decor items…fabulous.
this is so awesome! i want to redo my dresser too. great inspiration!