dresser/deskmy mom, circa 1979 west african mudcloth a tiny canvas, primed, sketched upon, and ready to be painted buddha kuan yin all the canisters at the top of the dresser are repurposed tea tins. this one clearly holds pens, knitting needles, etc, and the other two have their own secrets. reuse is a running theme in my space, partially out of necessity and partially because i like it. 
this is one of my favorite pieces of furniture, ever. it's a very small secretery/writing desk which i think is vintage from the 20's or 30's. there are slots for mail and tiny drawers for supples, and the top slides down like a roll-top. also, a work surface slides out from the top. there are three drawers below the writing surface which i use as a dresser. this piece is fantastic, if not in great condition, and it's served me very well over the past few years. the only problem is that i now officially have too many clothes and there just isn't room here for all of it. also, i will soon be bringing the desk which is now serving as a media stand in the living room into here, so i won't need a dresser that converts into a work space. but it's a beautiful piece! it's the only actual antique i own! how can i give this up?
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the opoponax says:well there a few reasons not to paint it.
one thing i've discovered about nice wood
furniture is that once it's painted, that's
it. you are never going to be able to
restore it to it's original beauty. and with
a unique find like this, it's not like i can
change my mind and run out to Ikea for a
replacement. it is possible that if i hang
onto it long enough i can have the scratches
and nicks sanded out of it or get it
reveneered or something. i'm actually more
worried about the stability -- the bottoms of
the drawers are unstable and the legs are
getting wobbly.
the opoponax says:hm. just did some research on my secretary
-- turns out an antique dealer is selling an
identical piece in fabulous condition on
ebay, for $800, buy-it-now. the seller is
calling it danish modern but doesn't give a
manufacturer, designer, or year, so i dunno.
there isn't much about it that seems classic
d-mod to me, though it's teak and the leg
construction is a bit reminiscent of that. i
would guess that it's a piece from the late
30's or 40's that anticipates danish modern
but isn't full on crazy danish modern yet.
the opoponax says:i know! i got it free via an art gallery i
once worked with. of course, mine is falling
apart and probably not worth all that much
itself. but it's nice to know i
inadvertantly acquired some 'protein'
furniture.
lizzeldridge says:Hey, just a thought-do you know about the
Tibet Almond Stick? Can buy it at Lowe's or
Home Depot, i think. It is a little tube of
some chemical thing wrapped inside a
red/cream colored tin container, and takes
scratches out of wood, it's amazing. I use it
on a lot of old pieces that are cool like
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foreverfrida says:
The piece is gorgeous. My first thought was to paint it, but then I'm not sure. Isn't painting a no-no for real honest-to-goodness antiques? If you painted it, I think it would look great in a nice soft shade. Like a lemon-yellow maybe?
I think it's really sweet that you have a picture of your mom on your mirror.
Posted 42 months ago. ( permalink )