Donated to Be Wild Outdoor preschool in Boulder, CO
I picked this dresser up along with several other pieces of furniture at a house that was about to throw away everything before moving. The dresser was in pretty rough shape, and painted in a thick coat of chipping lacquer. Let's just say I slightly regretted picking this thing up, and I ended up storing it in the corner of my shop for months. After a very frustrating day at work, I dragged this thing out to get some rage out with the sander. As I was sanding, some ideas started to formulate about what to do with this piece. I have been dreaming of trying my hand at combining abstract art with furniture, and this shitty little dresser seemed like the perfect practice candidate. So the transformation period began!
I removed the ugly molding on the base, and replaced it with a more modern look. I used factory cut off plywood to create the base molding and kept the arches on the side that were hidden under the original trim. I then painted it with a neutral taupe color, preparing for some pops of color on the drawer face.
Once the colors were laid out, I went crazy with the paints. This style of abstract painting was new to me, and I really enjoyed experimenting. Then only sad thing was, the minute I finished my last stroke, a huge gust of wind blew a slurry of leaves and dirt over everything!! ugh!! The struggles of working in an outdoor workshop, definitely not conducive to proper finishing. Well, I am working on finding a solution to that problem, stay tuned!
I spent a while considering what to do with this finished piece. Even though I was really happy with the final result of the painting, I knew that the construction of the dresser itself was not originally of high quality. I wanted to find a home for it, but didn't think I could sell it for what I would want. Luckily, an amazing opportunity arose. My good friend, Juliana, had just opened her outdoor pre-school program called Be Wild, and she needed furniture for her little studio space. I knew right away that the colorful energy of the dresser would fit perfectly in her space and help to inspire the little ones.
