Antique Dresser Makeover

Today I want to share with you a bit of history about this dresser before we dive into the full makeover! This piece has a story and I want to uncover just a bit of that story today!

Short and Sweet

This is going to be a quick post! I have been in the workshop all day and I am pooped! Especially after a weekend of being at the auction and then a day of spring yard cleanup!

But I just had to show you this dresser! It came to us through someone who was cleaning out their parents barn. You heard it, a barn!

Antique Dresser Details

This piece dates back to the late 1800’s-early 1900’s. One of the ways to date this piece is to look at the joinery. It might be hard to see here, but keep reading! I’ve got a better image farther down the post!

The back of the dresser is another indicator that this is an antique. See the separate boards that make the back? They are grooved so that the boards can fit into the slots of the board next to it. Kinda like tongue and groove. No thin plywood here! Just gorgeous solid wood!

The top is solid wood as well. It is made of several boards that have been joined together to create one larger top. It has an uncomplicated edge that shows simple hand-craftsmanship.

You can see that I decided to take the top down to bare wood with my DeWalt sander! More on that in a later post 🙂

The knobs had been changed out at some point. See the two marks on either side of the wooden knob? Those were the original holes for the hardware. I love details like this – it helps to tell the story that this piece was well used over the years.

Remember the drawers and the joinery I mentioned? Here is a better image so the beautiful craftsmanship can be seen. The drawer on the right has been sanded down. Isn’s that Knapp joinery beautiful??

Calling it a Day!

Well, that’s it for today! I know it’s a short post but I need to kick my feet up for the night!

Check back in tomorrow for more of this antique dresser makeover! I will share with you some of the minor repairs that had to be done to bring this antique dresser back to life!

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