Whitewashed Vintage Dresser

 

The last time I visited my family in Sacramento, I found this awesome pair of old dressers on caster wheels at a yard sale.  I do not come across such stylish dressers often, let alone two at a time! 

 

I was so excited and the woman I bought them from was happy when I told her that I fix up furniture.  She asked me if I was going to paint them white.  I thought about it and realized that when I started fixing up furniture, it seemed like I painted everything white.  I rarely paint anything plain white anymore, but I thought this dresser would look pretty in a simple white finish.  I decided to do white with a twist by adding a French Linen wash over Pure White Chalk Paint®.



 

 

The top was scratched, gouged and well-worn.  I patched the uneven spots with wood filler and then sanded it smooth before painting.

 

I love the long legs on these dressers and the fan detail on the second drawer.

 

I like the contrast of the original dark hardware and caster wheels against the new white washed finish. 

 

I used a dry brush and only applied one coat of Pure White Chalk Paint, so that the dark stain beneath would show through and add depth to the finish.  After the Pure White dried, I mixed the French Linen 50:50 with water to create a wash and brushed it over the white.  I used a rag to wipe off and blend the wash over the white.  I left the wash darker over the fan detail on the drawer front to accent the piece.  I completed this piece with Annie Sloan's Clear Wax for a soft, smooth finish.

 

 

While this is not a true white wash finish, it is a great way to create a white washed look over wood that is in poor condition and has been patched with wood filler.  I would not have been able to do a white wash over the wood filler, without it showing through.  The dry brush provided more coverage over the imperfections and the French Linen wash blended it all together.