A Victorian Chiffonier
Our most recent project involved a rather tired old Victorian chiffonier or dresser which needed a lot of preparation. Lee’s carpentry skills were maximised, fixing and strengthening right through making sure every detail was now in working order. Caroline then gave it all a good clean down and sanded off as much old varnish as possible. Our strapline ‘Breathing New Life Into Old Furniture’, is never more apt than when we work on antique piece of furniture like this.
Once prepared the painting started using a shellac based sealant on the insides and back which are made of lower quality wood to the beautiful wood on the case. You will find that most old furniture is made in this way as top quality wood was precious in those days. This method reduces the chances of staining showing through the paintwork. The whole piece was then given two coats of Annie Sloan’s ‘Old White’ chalk paint.
The top did not lend itself to being sanded and polished. So another method was decided. Annie Sloan’s ‘Original chalk paint was used and then heavily waxed in dark wax. The result was quite stunning.
Finally the whole piece was waxed twice in Annie Sloan’s soft wax and lightly stressed to enhance the beautiful detail and carvings in the design and put together in all it’s glory.
Finally when renovating it we found an old Victorian penny dated 1889. So we have fixed this inside so it stays with the piece forever. It’s next to the lovely original cold tray which is still beautifully lined in the original lead.
We hope you enjoyed our little insight into our latest project. This piece is now for sale on the website for £495.00 with FREE DELIVERY to anywhere in England.