Guest Blogger: Shannon from Vintage Restyled

I'm so happy to welcome Shannon from Vintage Restyled to Days today. I think you'll enjoy her blog as much as I do!

When I stumbled upon Jenny’s blog, I knew I had landed in the right spot. Being a New Yorker, I knew Jenny and I were kindred spirits from the start. Imagine my delight when she asked me to guest post!

So here I am, Shannon from Vintage Restyled – where I share my furniture and décor projects daily. I have two booths in an antique mall where I sell my vintage wares. I absolutely love to upcycle and transform furniture that is dated or left for dead. Today, I am sharing my favorite furniture transformation yet. It required some work, some patience and a lot of love.

I would love to have you visit me directly and follow along on my design adventures

I bought this dresser off Craigslist. In the listing it said it was a project. When I arrived to get it, I almost turned around and left.
But there was something about this maple dresser that made me want to help it.

The veneer was missing from the top. After peeling some back, I realized what was underneath was even worse. So I used ~~a ton of~~ wood filler to fill the gap.
Hubby got busy with the wood glue on the drawers, the sides and the top. The veneer was loose everywhere!

But look at these wood wheels. Swoon.

And look at the finish on the legs! Uggg!
I opted for Paris Gray, even though the rest of the furniture in the guest room is Old White. This baby needed to stand out.

When the paint dried, the top bowed. So Hubby peeled the veneer back a bit and injected wood glue.

I thought it was going in the landfill at this point.

Despite my tight deadline, we clamped it and left it ~~for dead~~ overnight.
When we woke, we found it was still a bit wet and one part did not adhere too well.

So I sanded this baby with 100 grit and the palm sander. I was losing hope.

Then I heavily distressed the whole dresser. I figured nothing was going to be perfect on her, so lets embrace her quarks.

Oh yeah, roughed up in all the right places.
Then I mixed AS Dark Wax with some clear and brushed and wiped the mix all over the dresser.

You can see the difference – the top left drawer has not been waxed.

Then I hit the top. Crossing my fingers, I applied some more wood filler, sanded and painted a coat.
Without further ado…

This has been my biggest furniture challenge yet. I am so thrilled with the result! I may have to move her in a place where I can see her everyday! I cannot express my relief and shock that I actually brought her back to life!
Let’s look at some more shots, shall we?