A Serpentine Dresser Named Lily (Before & After)
Guess what?!? I have a furniture makeover to share today. I think you’re gonna love her. I know I do!
This is Lily:
John actually helped me name her. He thinks her color looks a lot like my favorite flower – lily of the valley.
You maybe wondering about Lily “before”. This is how she was looking for quite a while in the middle of our living room.
I’m not sure you can see the scratches and wear and tear in this image but she really needed a makeover. The top was really scratched up too!
When I saw her, I knew I wanted to do her in Miss Mustard Seed’s Ironstone Milk Paint. I really love the color but haven’t used it since my Isla dresser. This is Isla in our bedroom:
Isla and Lily could be long lost sisters, don’t you think?!?
Isla is a Henredon serpentine dresser and Lily is a serpentine dresser by Dixie. I think they are both from the 40s. I decided I wanted this chippy look and Lily really chipped:
and flaked:
a lot!
To create this look. I scuff sanded the body of the piece and I did three coats of MMS Milk Paint in Ironstone (without bonding agent). I used a scraper, sandpaper and vaccuum to remove the chippy and flaking paint.
I stripped the top with Citra Strip and then stained the top with Minwax in Jacobean. Jacobean usually comes out darker but on this piece it has a more cherry or redish hue but looks great with the wood that is shining through.
The top looks so rich now! I sealed the entire piece with Minwax water-based polyacrylic in satin finish. I usually use wax on my milk painted pieces but really wanted to seal the chippy finish in.
I absolutely love the details on this piece. The medallions:
The beautiful brass hardware:
What do you think of Lily?!?
She’ll be available for sale at my upcoming Open Studio this Sunday. Contact me for more details.
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Love, love, love it!
judypimperl.blogspot.com
Gorgeous. Love her. Well done….again!
Lily is absolutely gorgeous!
What pretty chippy dresser! I love milk paint and your dresser turned out FAB!
Absolutely gorgeous! Love her!
I LOVE this! Really, really beautiful! I want to start naming my (one) pieces lol! Great job on this Danielle and I love the color.
Jackie
Love it!! Could see it in my house ! 😉
I love it! Such a great job. I love how you were able to get the chippy look for Lily. Looks amazing and I am sure someone will snap her up quick! (I just wish it could be me lol)
Lovely! As usual 🙂
What a great piece! I don’t often come across the double drawers but it is such a great look with such pretty details and hardware. Love the restored wood finish and how the Ironstone came out. Wishing you a great open house!
Love both of serpentine dressers, the style really appeals to me. Maybe cause I saw lot of that style since I was born in 1940. The top is so pretty now, you did great job on her. The stain you used really brings out her radiance. How did you like using milk paint? I’ve wanted to try a sample or two but never seem to think about it when I have any money. I haven’t tried any yet or commercial chalk paint. I’m going to look for Americana chalky paint which I saw on somebody’s post. Can try it without… Read more »
What a beautiful job. I love this piece and the one in your bedroom so much I went and bought ironstone for my kitchen table. The top had a top not as dark as your piece and the legs were already cream. I don’t know what I did wrong but after 4 coats it looked uneven in different areas of the table top.. ? Yours has a creamy solid appearance I was going for. Any thoughts? PS- I did not add bonding agent and I did sand the top a little. The legs of the table turned out nicely though.… Read more »
Looks great! I have this same exact piece with a matching bed, that was handed down to me from my grandparents.