2.08.2011

The Verna & Verla Twin Dressers - Before & After

Before These little twin dressers are not just dressers. They were passed down from my grandmother to my mom who then in turn passed them to me. My grandma had these two dressers pushed together at the bottom of a guest bed. She hung a cute little mirror above it which faced the window and made the little bedroom seem much larger than it really was.
The names of these dressers come from my grandmother who was Verna and her twin who was Verla. They were the 8th and 9th babies for my great grandparents Joseph and Hannah.
AND
THEY
EACH
WEIGHED
OVER
EIGHT
POUNDS!!
I don't know how Grandma Hannah did it!

By the time we actually got the dressers the were in good stable condition but had quite a few scratches and cosmetically had seen better days. The swinging handles would hit the wood each time they were used which caused quite a bit of damage in the hardware area. We needed some side tables in our family room and we knew some wood fill and a fresh coat of paint could give these twins new life.

After
These twins are quite simple with alot of straight lines aside from the little curvy detail at the base. Because the drawer fronts are quite flat with little detail we opted to do a bit of distressing right on the surfaces along with all of the edges.
The original stain had a red hue to it which I think peeks through nicely against the white.
We always have the option of adding some type of wood embellishment on one of the drawers or all three if we choose. For now I quite like the simpleness.
My mom found this print for me years ago. She saw it and thought I would like it and she was so right! I found this old frame at the thrift store so we threw a coat of paint on it and roughed up the edges.
These little twin dressers are serving our family wonderfully in our family room. Many may wonder if my grandmother cared that we painted them. I know 100% she would be happy that I got them and that they are fully functional and beautiful in our home. She would be very pleased I have no doubt.

We are currently working on a new dining table and six chairs. Coming up next I am going to post about a very special picture in our home. And I am wondering if any of you out there have something similar.

13 comments:

The House Creative said...

GORGEOUS! Amazing what some paint can do.

AllisonK said...

These are lovely and story behind them is priceless! I can't wait to see them.

Loaf has RSV so I might have to postpone until next week. Sorry.

michelle said...

Melanie those turned out gorgeous! What a wonderful story behind them to and I loved how you had some of the original stain showing through too. I love the picture, what a wonderful gift:) Oh my gosh, 8 lbs each! Yeah I don't know how they did it either! What wonderful women!

NanaDiana said...

Gorgeous. Love the twins! Can you imagine carrying 8 pound twins? Hugs- Diana

Heather at Happy Chippy Junk said...

I think the print is by an artist who lives in my tiny town. His name is Ned Young. He makes old and chippy look good!!

Kammy said...

Those are wonderful looking !
(I name my furniture too :o) )
Kammy

Nicole said...

These are all amazing! You have a new follower! That would be me. ;)

Leslie said...

These twin dresses brought a little tear to my eye!

foreverdecorating said...

Cute dressers and cute story.

Kim @ A Brush of Whimsy said...

Melanie,
These are so cute! Love the lower curvy part!
Kim :)

By the Bluegrass said...

fantastic! Looks like it came right out of Pottery Barn. The before and after is amazing!

Donnie said...

They really came out so nice. Love them.

Robin Ange said...

So cute! I would love it if you would share this upcycle over at The T-Shirt Diaries (http://tinyurl.com/upcycled35).

Related Posts with Thumbnails