The $19 Mid Century Dresser Transformation

On a recent trip to a newly discovered thrift store I uncovered the most amazing dresser/chest of drawers under a pile of crap It was perfect for my bedroom.  Those of you may recall my mess of a bedroom when I disclosed my bedroom secrets.  Initially I was like cool, its a Mid Century look a like that I can paint and make look like something I would want in my house. But when I get home, I started pulling out the drawers, discovering this is REALLY Mid century. It’s tagged and all. SO WHAT DO I DO? I Googled John Stuart Inc. and found other furniture pieces by this company.

John Stuart Furniture

The John Stuart Furniture Company, Fourth Avenue and 32nd Street, New York was organized in 1934 by three men, all of whom had spent all their business lives in the furniture industry.  So I thought darn, what can I do?  If I paint this, does it lose its value? But then I thought, who cares it’s mine. And to top it off I only spent $19.  But while the exterior finish was a veneer it was solid and heavy.  It was a well built dresser. I actually loved the brass hardware. However, there was nothing I could do stain-wise that would make it work in my house….in my bedroom.  It had some veneer damage. But I could fix that with a little hardening wood filler.  Old furniture, like old homes have a story to tell.