The dresser belonged to Mum & Dad. I don't know if they got it new when they were married in 1954, or if it had belonged to Dad previously. It goes back over fifty years, anyway. The wood is very worn, but because of my allergies, refinishing the piece is not an option. So, I turned to a solution I have used in the past -- shiny black stiff cardstock paper to cover the drawer fronts (and, as it turned out, the side of the dresser as well) and new hardware. The old drawer pulls were NOT my style at all. The new ones, and the new look, make me very happy indeed. (And I changed the knobs on my bedside table so that they all match.)
Here is the Before picture. I had covered the top of the dresser a couple of years ago, and then never got around to doing the drawers. Some day I will redo the top, and will endeavor to get the upholstery nails to hammer in straight (the wood is nearly as hard as stone!) Not today, though. Note: the picture doesn't do justice to the wear and tear that was visible on the drawers, although you can get an idea of it by looking at the middle drawer.
First step was to remove the old hardware. I will put it in the next garage sale my friend has planned. Maybe someone will like it. Maybe. Then I cut the paper to size, and stuck it on with double-sided tape. (Not likely wood friendly, but this wood has seen better days, anyway.) I carefully left the drawers open, since there was no way to pull them out again if they accidentally were closed. (Oddly, the drawer fronts are 7 15/16" deep. Isn't that an odd figure?)
The old hardware was handles with two screws. An odd size of handles, that I couldn't match easily. So I decided to switch to knobs. That gave me two hole placements to play with, so I decided to be a bit creative, and do the middle drawer differently than the top and bottom drawers. I like the effect.
I am a happy SCB.
This morning I changed the drapes, and got rid of the old taupe ones (hooray!). A friend is coming to help with the mirror tomorrow. Then I'll be able to show you "After" pics of the entire bedroom.
Nice! This now reminds me of an old travel case. The paper looks almost like metal.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the dresser is originally European or European influenced, since the 7 15/16" is exactly 20 centimeters.
Perhaps the handles were metric too so you could not find them from your side of the planet.
Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI wish I knew the origin of the dresser -- your mention that the measurement is an exact metric one is interesting, since metric was definitely not used here back then. Hmmm...
Good heavens, 20cm? Interesting. That piece could have come from anywhere, really. It's more likely from the 30s or 40's.
ReplyDeleteI like the circle effect you got with the handle placement. Leena is right, it does look like an old travel case. Alana (using her alias today.)
I recognize you, Alana, even when you have your Ben mask on!
ReplyDeleteHmmm... if the dresser looks 30s or 40s style, it may well have been Dad's from back at my grandparents' house. Why did I not think to ask these questions when I could?
I hadn't realized that the placement of the drawer pulls sort of echoes the circular mirror. Cool!
no markings on the backs or undersides of the dresser itself or the drawers? I love a dresser mystery...
ReplyDeletelooking good- can't wait to see the other pics!
I can't heave the dresser around to check for markings, unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteWould you consider it too much of a trouble to measure the distance between the two screw holes of the handles? I'm just curious if the distance would be same as is used in here. Ofcourse the standards might have changed, since it's an old dresser.
ReplyDeleteAlso it could be that the carpenter who made that dresser had an old dresser with metric measurements and liked its style and proportions and wanted to make similar.
I find this really exciting!
No problem at all to measure that distance, onshore! I even measured it in metric for you. From the middle of one screw hole to the middle of the other is exactly 11 cm. Does that match with any standard (or non-standard) measurement over there?
ReplyDeleteI may have to empty the dresser drawers and pull them out to see if there are any markings inside the dresser. I'd need help to pull it away from the wall to check the back. This is intriguing!
11 cm... hmmm... The standard now days here seems to be 9.6 cm, 12.8 cm or 16 cm. So 11 cm doesn't match. I was kind of hoping this could bring a closure to the mystery dresser :)
ReplyDeleteBut come to think of it those measurement we use here are pretty odd, why don't we have 9.5, 13 and 16. Maybe those have not originally been metric. I wonder what is the history of the handle dimensions, kind of intriguing.