Oak dresser from the screened in porch – before and after!
Our fifth blog post from September 2015. This dresser takes me a lot farther back than my moving into this old farm house and starting this blog. For as long as I can remember it was always out in the screened in porch. Who knew one day I would be taking it home with me, my heart full of grief, after my Grandma passed? It was one of my very first projects. I don’t know what compelled me to tackle all of the furniture from the house (maybe too much HGTV?) but I wasn’t willing to give up any of it and it turned out that I absolutely loved the work.
That furniture refinishing adventure was actually the beginning of my turning my attention to this beautiful old home and starting the remodel of Grandma’s house. Of course all of the furniture came back here.
(Three dressers in our master bedroom, two dressers on our main floor, a radio stand and two dressers that became our bathroom vanities just to name a few!)
This old beauty is currently residing in our guest bedroom!
Its pretty amazing to read back and realize how much has changed here at Grandma’s house! Here is the original post:
This to me is my very best before and after when it comes to a save I made from the farm house. I would give anything to go back and get a good before picture of this beast.
Why don’t I have one you ask?
Because I’m a bull and I couldn’t wait to strip it so I just threw myself into the job the first chance I got and boom I had forgotten to take a before.
Seriously, the before picture should have been taken even before we cleared out the screened in porch because this beast was not even recognizable as a piece of furniture at that point.
No one knows where this oak dresser came from, nor does anyone know exactly how long it sat out on the screened in porch. Both my mother and aunt would agree that it had been there for as long as they could remember.
There is a rather good chance that this oak dresser may have even been in the house when my Grandparents moved in in the ’50s.
We just don’t know.
What I do know is that before it was moved to the screened in porch to experience all of the degrees of Minnesota weather, it had been painted white and a mirror (not its mirror) had been added to the back of it.
(Check out the jewelry hanger I made out of that old mirror’s frame!)
It may have had its own mirror once I only know that the mirror that had been added had fallen off at some point and was sitting behind it. The entire thing was so utterly covered in dirt that no one wanted to even touch it.
This is the kind of filth that’s hard to explain, dirt that is so old and so dense its like skin. But, I thought, what the hell, what have I got to lose? It wasn’t terribly heavy and, amazingly, the drawers worked and it seemed sturdy.
So, I took it home to see what I could do.
I started out by hosing this puppy off as I had no intention of touching that second skin of filth any more then I needed to. I mean, seriously, I don’t mind getting dirty but this thing was FILTHY.
Underneath the paint was what someone who likes shabby chic would probably have paid a fortune to achieve. It was utterly cracked, jagged, rather amazing actually. (This is when I should have taken the before picture.)
It came off in one quick stripping and became what you see in the picture below.
Underneath revealed solid oak.
With a couple of passes with my sander it looked brand new. I consider this old beast my greatest save/transformation but, amazingly, it was also one of my easiest.
It had seen so much weather that it sanded up really quickly and took stain in text book style. At first I had planned this for the third bathroom vanity in the house but it became so dear to my heart that I decided to keep it as a dresser.
I used this red oak stain by minwax and two coats of minwax polycrylic.
The hardware is off of amazon and its an absolutely awesome deal click here to check it out.
The knobs are heavy, really high quality and so little in cost compared to other hardware that I’ve seen that you’ll be seeing these pretty little knobs on just about everything in my house! We love how this oak dresser turned out!
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I’m Tarah!
It’s been a hell of a ride since I started this blog and renovated and moved into this old farm house back in 2015. I got married, divorced, lost my doggo soul mate, spent two years as a single gal, remodeled everything, threw my back out countless times and was even found by an amazing guy in my own backyard! (The story behind Storyhardt Farm.)
Around here we’re totally fearless when it comes to bettering our home. We love to refinish old furniture, re-purpose old pieces, build it from scratch and totally renovate anything that needs it! If we can do it – so can you. We’ve got some serious plans for this old farm and, for first time ever, I have a real partner!
This is gonna be so much fun!
You can also find out more about the amazing Grandma behind this blog who moved in to this old farmhouse with my Grandpa nearly 70 years ago!
Wow, what a transformation! Thanks for adding your flair to the Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop! This post has been pinned to our group board.
Shellie
http://www.thefabjourney.com
Thank you Shellie!
Marvelous! With the current trend to paint furniture I feared that was what I’d find here, but I’m so glad to see the beautiful finish! It’s just lovely.
Blessings, Leigh
Leigh, thank you so much! When its solid wood like that I just have to stain ๐
Wood beauty at its best!! Love how you upcycle that gorgeous dresser!
Thank for sharing with us at #2usestuesday
Thank you so much!
This is gorgeous. I appreciate your courage in tackling such an icky job but you reign supreme. You did a terrific job. I saw your link at the Vintage Charm party.
Thank you Ann for stopping by and having a look!
What a big undertaking! It turned out lovely! Your hard work really paid off! If you are interested in joining in one more party each week I host Making Broken Beautiful every Thursday thru Sunday and would be happy to host you. You do lovely work! I hope you have a great week!
Smiles!
Terry
http://thecuratorscollection.wordpress.com
Making Broken Beautiful
Thank you Terry I will definitely do that!!
Oh my, Tarah–what an INCREDIBLE transformation! You sure are working your way through your grandmas’ treasures. You did a terrific job transforming this piece. I’m sure it has real pride of place in your home. Thanks so much for sharing it with us all at Vintage Charm ๐
Diana thank you so much!!
Your painstaking work on the dresser paid off. Well done!
Thank you very much! ๐
Nothing is more beautiful than restored wood. This chest proves it. Lovely job!! Thanks so much for linking to Friday’s Furniture Fix. We love having you!!
Thank you so much Susie!
What a beautiful job. I love painted furniture but this piece is not meant for that. It looks lovely.
Yeah when I saw those stripes on the drawers I got so excited to see it stained! Thank you!
Visiting from Lost and Found Decor and saw this AMAZING transformation! I’m not sure I would have seen the beauty in this dresser.
Beautifully done!
Monique, thank you so much!
Wow, the transformation is gorgeous! Thank you so much for sharing at Friday Favorites! I hope that you will join us again this week! Christine – Must Love Home
Thank you Christine! I’ll be there!
Gorgeous!! Your work and vision TOTALLY paid off. Nicely done! ๐
Found you via Sweet Inspirations!
Thank you so much!!
What an amazing transformation!!! I love that you uncovered the beauty of this dresser and was able to restore it to its wonderful self!! You truly got a treasure in this dresser. Thanks for sharing at Sweet Inspiration!
Thank you so much!
I really love this dresser! Thanks for sharing at Meet up Mondays.
Thank you!!
I love the transformation. I never paint good old oak furniture and I was a little scared to see if you had done that. Great job on bringing this piece back to life!
Thank you! ๐
Thank goodness you didn’t paint it. It came out too beautiful to cover with paint. Great Job!
Thank you!
Hi Tarah,
thanks so much for sharing your lovely chest of drawers on Wonderful Wednesday’s Link Party this week. I will be sharing it on next week’s link party as a feature!!
Just beautiful….great job!
Maxine @studiopaintdesign.com
Oh that’s awesome!! Thank you so much!
Amazing transformation!! So happy you restored this piece to its former glory! Thank you for linking up to #OMHGWW and so glad to have you as my feature this week! Pop by and grab your button! ๐ http://fromevijawithlove.com/2016/05/17/wonderful-wednesday-link-party-3-may/
Oh thank you so much!!!
You have done such a great job indeed. The dresser is so beautiful. Classic, yet elegant. Thanks for joinin us on #OMHGWW ๐
Thank you! ๐
What a beautiful end result! Thanks for sharing at You’re Gonna Love it!
Thank you Kim!
Nice job!! Thanks for sharing at the DIY party on Pleasures of the NW
Thank you Helen!!
What a great makeover! Thank you for sharing. You are one of the features at the Make it Pretty Monday party at The Dedicated House. Her is the link to this week’s bash. http://www.thededicatedhouse.com/2016/05/make-pretty-monday-week-178.html Hope you have a lovely week!! Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse
Thank you so much Kathryn!
What a bonus to find that amazing dresser underneath all the filth! It’s gorgeous! xx
Thank you Elsie!
I bet all that lovely dirt protected it! ๐ gwingal
lol Nikki I think you’re right!
My goodness – what a transformation!!!! Looks great and you know it will last forever! It already has!
Thank you Cathy!! ๐
Wonderful job. You have knack for these DIY projects.
Thanks Michelle for commenting and stopping by!
The dresser looks brand new! You did an awesome job ๐
Blessings,
Edye
Thank you!
What an amazing transformation. I love renewing old things. Please join us on Sunday’s Best Linkup, I would love for you to share your posts.
I’ll be there, thank you!
Tarah, your dresser transformation is beautiful. What’s a little dirt to a girl with a hose, a sander and some mini wax ? How special to have this piece in your home. Thank you for sharing at Your Inspired Design Link Party.
Isn’t that the truth!? I do recall exclaiming last weekend to my husband though, “Why is it that everything I do is so dirty and gross?!” Thanks for coming by ๐
This dresser is absolutely gorgeous1 And now it can be used for generations to come! Great job!
Thank you Holly!
Wow, what a transformation. I love the finished product. We don’t always need to paint furniture and it is true in this case.
Bev
Thank you Bev ๐ I’m so glad I went to all the work of stripping this one instead of painting it!
It is absolutely gorgeous! I am so glad you stained it! You did a beautiful job! Stopping by after seeing your post on “Tutorial Tuesday”! Thanks!
Thank you Teri for coming by!
Wow! This turned out so pretty! ๐
I would love for you to share this with my Facebook Group for Recipes and Crafts: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pluckyrecipescraftstips/
Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!
I will Jess! Thank you very much!
Great rehab on a classic piece! They just don’t make them like that anymore. Good stuff!
Also, I’ve chosen to feature this post on the next Peace, love, link up! Thanks for linking with us! Be sure to grab a button and check out the post which goes live tomorrow at 6! : )
Ashleigh my gosh thank you so much!! Glad you liked it ๐ I was so excited when it turned out good lol sometimes you just never know!
Looks great!
Thank you Laura!
I think it’s either a generational or a midwest thing to have dressers and old furniture on the porch. One sat on my grandparents back porch right next to the chest freezer for years to store my grandma’s canning supplies.
You did a wonderful job at restoring this treasure!
Thank you so much for sharing it at the Monday Mish Mash Link Party!!
*Hugs*
lol so true! Yup my Grandma had a chest freezer out there for years along with this dresser! Thank you!
Boy that is a treasure you’ve uncovered!! Thanks for sharing with us at Throwback Thursday!
Mollie
Thank you Mollie!
What a great transformation.
Thanks for sharing with SYC.
Thank you Carol!
That looks amazing! Well done! I would take an old all wood piece of furniture any day over the things that are now not made of wood. Thank you for sharing at Home Sweet Home!
Thank you Sherry, me too!!
That looks amazing!! Great DIY and before and after…lol!! Thanks for sharing on My 2 Favorite Things on Thursday! Hope to see you again tomorrow! Pinned!
Elaine thank you so much for coming by!!
Thanks for sharing! I love a good “before and after”!
Thank you Gabrielle!!
Tarahlynn, this is such a beautiful piece. You did such a great job saving it! They just don’t make furniture like they use to so when you can bring a piece back to life it begins to hold a special value. You have inspired me so much that I’ve been plundering the local thrift stores in search of something to repurpose as a TV stand as well as something I can repurpose as a unique bathroom cabinet for our bathroom remodel. Thank you so much for sharing your inspiration with us at #SimplifyWednesdays !
Carla, thank you so much for commenting, that’s wonderful to hear! We used an old buffet for our bathroom vanity and we just love it, SOOOO much storage! Good luck on your plundering!
Oh, I love taking it back to the dark oak color! I really don’t like to see solid oak painted white. This is beautiful ๐ Thanks for sharing your post with us at Together on Tuesdays!!!
Thank you Lisa!!
Just lovely! What a wonderful transformation.
Thank you!!
Seems like they don’t make furniture this strudy any more do they? What a gorgeous transformation. So amazing I pinned it. Stopped by from Share the Wealth, where my post, Tomato Sauce with a Secret Source of Veg Protein appears. Enjoy the rest of the weekend. Nancy Andres @ http://www.nancyandreswriter.com
Nancy, thank you! No, honestly they really just don’t make furniture like they used to!
Beautiful! It almost looks like a brand new piece of furniture! What a transformation!
Thanks for sharing (and for linking up to the #SHINEbloghop).
Wishing you a lovely week.
xoxo
Thank you Jennifer!
This is absolutely gorgeous now! It looks elegant. What a terrific transformation! Pinning. Thanks for sharing at Snickerdoodle Sunday.
Thank you Beverly!
Amazing transformation! I can’t believe the end result. Thanks for joining the Family Joy Link Party!
Thank you Samantha!
such a gorgeous piece!!! Thanks for sharing at #FTAF
Thank you!!
What a beautiful piece! You did a fabulous job. Thanks for sharing with us.
Blessings,
Sandi
Thank you!!
I am so glad you didn’t paint it. That wood grain is amazing, great job
Hey Patty, I’m really glad I didn’t paint it too! Solid wood that is that old… I just couldn’t paint it! Thanks! ๐
Wow, Tarah! Definitely a labor of love… and the results are stunning. I’m in the midst of painting furniture and distressing but you just showed us how beautiful the older antique furniture really is. Thanks so much for linking up!
Jill, thank you so much, I was glad (in the end, it was a lot of work!) that I decided not to paint this one ๐
What a lovely way to remember your Grandmas and what a labour of love! Your have done a beautiful job of this oak dresser – what a transformation!! Thank you for sharing with us at Hearth and Soul.
Thank you April!
Beautiful job, As Usual~! You just amaze me! Thanks for treasuring this old piece enough to put in the work needed to restore it and not just slap some paint on it. I like painted furniture, if it is inferior wood or veneer or something less than solid beautiful wood. BUT when you have a gorgeous piece like this, REFINISH, let the natural beauty be seen. GOOD WORK, and a beautiful end result…
I totally agree! This old dresser was stunning before I started, I couldn’t wait to refinish it and let that wood shine!
Oh my goodness…that is absolutely gorgeous! What a treasure!
Thank you Karla!
It is such a classic piece I am glad you got it back to it’s former glory !
Thank you Amber, I was really glad to be able to keep and restore this piece!
This is a lovely restoration. You can see its beautiful oak with all the grains. Imagine what this piece of furniture is worth in wood cost alone. It is an absolute treasure anyone would love now. Awesome job.
Thank you so much Leanna, they really don’t make them like they used to ๐ I was so glad to be able to restore it!
What a beautiful dresser now that you have “rescued” it. ๐
Thank you!!
This is so beautiful! I’m glad you were able to make it useful again. It is such a pretty piece. Thanks for sharing at My Busy Beehives #beeparty this week!
Thank you!!
WOW….Great furniture makeover! Glad I found your website!
Thanks Kathleen!
Beautiful transformation! Thanks for sharing at Sew It Cook It Craft It! ๐
Thank you so much Lina!
I’m sooo glad you didn’t slap a coat of paint on it! All too often, I see photos of where someone has just slapped a coat of white paint on what was probably a beautiful piece of wood (at one time) and called it “farmhouse”, or some such thing. It makes me cringe. You put in the work and the time to strip and sand the piece and then apply a stain that gives it color but also lets the beautiful grain of the natural oak to show through. Great job!
Thank you so much! When its solid wood like this old piece was I just can’t bear to paint it – just the idea of those gorgeous zebra stripes in the wood grain being covered up makes me cringe so hard!
I love all your transformations! That red stain is gorgeous!
Thank you so much!
You have done an amazing job of the office, and the difference in the dresser is phenomenal! I’m so impressed by how beautiful it looks. Thank you so much for sharing with us at Hearth and Soul.
Thank you so much April!
Thank you for sharing your wonderful post at #OverTheMoon. I look forward to what you will share next week! Like someone in person today! We hope youโll come back again next Sunday when we open our doors at 6:00 PM EST. Pinned and tweeted!
Thanks Marilyn!!
Wow, what a treasure you have uncovered. Thank you for sharing at Ravenwould.
Thank you!!
What. a beautiful transformation! & thank you for linking up to Waste not Wednesday Link party!
Thanks Kellie for coming by!
Such an awesome transformation! It looks gorgeous now. ๐ #FridayFrivolity
Thanks so much Jess!
Looks gorgeous! And really sturdy too. Such an amazing difference between before and after! #twinklytuesday
Thank you so much Lucy!
I love the color of the wood! #HumpDayLinky
Thank you Heather!
What a beautiful transformation! Definiately worth investing the time #HumpDayLinky
Thank you so much Vicki!
Wow great work, my grandma used to renovate furniture and it was amazing to watch and see the end results. You have done a wonderful job #fortheloveofBLOG
Thank you so much for coming by, reading and commenting Sarah!
This is lovely. So many people go straight for the shabby-chic look but this looks so elegant. #humpdaylinky
Thank you Emma!
That’s kind of AMAZING! Wow! #Stayclassymama
Thank you Lydia!
Wow that’s quite an incredible transformation. I love the quality of older pieces of furniture and it’s great that you have a gift for restoring them to their former grandeur. Thanks for linking to #DreamTeam x
Thank you so much!
It’s beautiful, you did a wonderful job! Thank you for sharing at The Really Crafty Link Party. Pinned!
Thank you so much Teresa!
Hi Tarah, you’ve done an impressive job on that tatty old dresser. It has really come up a treat. I can see why you fell in love with it once you found the diamond in the dirt! The grain is beautiful and the colour, perfect!
Thank you for linking up with the #MMBC.
xx
Thank you so much Debbie!
Amazing what you can do with an old piece of furniture! Thanks for linking up with #fortheloveofBLOG
Thanks so much for coming by!
I love that you can see the diamonds in the rough and that you share the experience with us. Thank you so much for sharing with us at Whisk It Wednesday link party! Pinned and shared!
Thank you so much for coming by, reading and commenting and for the great link party!
One thing I love is that you made the choice to renew the finish vs. Paint. So many pieces are being ๐จ it makes me sick. I also discovered a couple of cleaners can also lighten the wood some. I have found the color becomes uniform. Called bleaching technique. Simple enough step to add. The dresser looks awesome!
Thanks Joe! Yeah a lot of old beauties are getting painted lately, it is kind of tragic imo. Fortunately though, one day, they can be stripped back to their beautiful old wood again if someone wanted to!