SOLID WOOD SHELF MAKEOVER - from orange to white



There are a lot of ppl out there that refinish furniture,
and it would seem that that is what I do as well however
I like to think of myself as a furniture rescuer.


And like many professionals I have a uniform I wear when I go to work
I have many tools of the trade and every now and then I get the call to come rescue
some tired piece of furniture someone still sees hope in.


Here is one of those calls:

I've got a super, super old piece that might do well with some love from you! It's kind of like a bookshelf - maybe it used to be a cabinet of some sort. It's pretty beat up - don't know if it's valuable - but thought that if anyone could make it beautiful again, you would be a pretty good bet.  I think it might be fir - it's got kind of an art deco feel to it - the top front edge is rounded. It seems to have quite a few layers of paint on it - and the back is completely toast - it seems to just be a piece of fibre board or something cheap like that.  

drawer, toe kick, and back removed - legs added

Christine didn't want any money and if I wasn't interested she was going to
listing it on Craig's list free section later that week.
She genuinely wanted to see this saved and why not?
It was a good piece of solid wood furniture that has served many homes
for over 50 years.
It had been painted many times probably to match each decade it lived thru.
 
These old bed slats were perfect for the back of the shelf,
just measured, cut, and nailed in place.
I really don't understand how they would have ever supported a queen bed
as thin as they were, maybe that's why they were curbside in the first place.



I used my grinder to create different levels of the old paint.


I sprayed the whole unit with ASCP in old white,
then sanded it back to show it's age, and gave it a waxing from head to toe.



I really love how vintage this project turned out.