Grand Dame

June 6, 2022

Donjia Huffmon

Dhuffmon1

This Grand Dame was a considerable amount of work, But she was worth it! I’ve given her my version of a Restoration Hardware finish and given her all the detailed finishes that she deserves.
I started by sanding to bare wood the top of the dresser, the 4 drawer fronts, and the lion paw feet. Then I applied straight bleach to those areas to lighten the orange color of the wood. I did the bleaching part three times and then applied a whitewash finish using a mix of 1:1 Cashmere/Water. To the front of the dresser I applied the beautiful Anthurium transfer by Redesign by Prima.
The base of the dresser is painted in a custom color mix that has been really popular for me of 1:1 Cappuccino and Stonehenge with a weathered wood glaze over top. To the sides of the dresser I applied a raised distressed lace stencil and did a white dry brush with Cashmere to bring out those beautiful details. The drawers are lined in a pretty damask tissue paper. The all wood drawer slides have been conditioned with wood salve so they slide smoothly. The hardware is all original and after soaking in vinegar/water I used a wire brush to clean away 100+ years of grime, then I added a little gold gilding wax. Thank you to Linda Topel for the beautiful mirror reflection!
Truly a labor of love on this one!

I did a raised stencil technique directly to the side over
The old finish. Then painted 2 coats of my color mix. Then applied weathered wood antiquing gel and wiped back. Final step was to do a light dry brush of cashmere to bring out the details of the stencil.

I applied the transfer called Antherium by redesign by Prima to the drawer fronts.

Kept the original hardware but first soaked it in vinegar/water overnight. Scrubbed all the gunk off the next day using a wire brush. Then applied gold gilding wax.