Easy-Glide Dresser + Art Sugar

There are pros and cons to tackling a refinishing project for a dresser that is not actually vintage:

1) Usually the dressers aren’t made of solid wood.
2) Sometimes that means it’s too difficult to remove the drawers for easier transportation
3) On the plus side, they more often than not have smoother gliding drawers than their older counterparts

Like Mr. Easy-Glide here:

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I liked his clean lines and tapered legs but he is definitely an assemble-yourself number. All his guts are labeled with little A-G alphabet stickers. But what you loose with newer construction, you gain with functionality. And these drawers slide like a pad of butter on a hot skillet. So he was worth a second look in my opinion - and a second chance to stand out.

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My go-to secret for instantly updating a dresser is usually adding legs. But Mr. Easy-Glide already had a decent set of gams.

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So I deployed my next go-to trade secret: change the pulls placement. Instead of leaving them dead-center, I changed the pulls and moved them to be perched right at the top of each drawer. It’s a very subtle move, and patching in the old holes meant painting the body, but it allows for a fresher take on a standard box store dresser.

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For the body color I chose “Swiss Coffee” - an StyleMutt staple I might add, but usually for wall color. I decided to try it on this piece because 1) I needed a warm white to play well with the wood tones and 2) I had plenty of it lying around ;)

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The dresser is actually painted the same color as the wall here - see how beautifully it holds both light and shadow? We love this color because it’s like a living neutral. It’s not devoid of personality just because it’s white.

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And yes - that’s a cameo from my cantilever chair flip.

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I asked him to step in as a supporting roll to some fall foliage and my new favorite pieces of art: these two Art Sugar abstracts by Caroline Orr.

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You know you’re getting happy mail when the box has Sugar in the name. And opening these art pieces when they arrived was like unwrapping some confiscated Halloween candy. I’m talking KING sized bars if you’re picking up what I’m laying down.

Known mostly for their pop art prints, Art Sugar has prints in multiple sizes supporting a myriad of artists - with a portion of each purchase going to charity. Their prices are affordable but if you’re not sure, you can even rent one of their pre-framed pieces for 90 days to make sure you’re in love with the look.

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When I saw Caroline Orr’s abstract collection, I didn’t need 90 days. Caroline’s watercolor shapes, whispered handwritings, and torn paper mixed media all spoke to me. And most notably her strong moments of color! I believe that when you bring art into your home, it should elicit a guttural response - otherwise it’s just wall filler.

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Together, they were the inspiration of my whole vignette - Tupelo Honey with his mossy greens and pops of blue…

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And Etta James with her soft pinks and bold red and orange accents. They demanded a visually striking foliage that could handle their spotlight so what better than some maple branch clippings in peak fall colors?

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If you’re shopping for ready-to-hang artwork, check out some of their fun and sometimes cheeky prints.

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And if you’re shopping for a fresh dresser, email me for more about our purchase and shipping options.

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Easy-Glide Dresser
Now Available for Sale
54"L x 16"D x 34"H
$695


If you are interested in this piece or a custom order like it, email me at cate@stylemutthome.com

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Pop of Red Dresser

When it comes to repairing old dressers, I’ve seen quite the spectrum of original conditions.  Water damage, bent hardware, chunks missing, splitting veneer, broken legs, and even dog pee.

But this piece...

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…this piece might take the cake. 

The previous owners had been keeping it practically unsheltered in their carport for who knows how long.  Exposed to the elements, every inch of the cherry veneer was clinging on for dear life.  As soon as I touched it, the veneer started flaking off like bad dandruff.  Poor thing. The state of this thing meant I couldn’t restore all of it back to its former glory. The drawer fronts, although in need of excessive touch-ups, were mostly salvageable.  But the sides were an irrestorable tragedy that would have to succumb to a good coat of paint. But this meant I had a fun opportunity on my hands… a chance to play with color:

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So if paint had to be on the agenda, I chose a sassy red-orange to play off the red cherry tones in the drawers.

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The drawers had a lot of chipped veneer around the edges which I painstaking patched and painted to match by hand.  Then I reoiled the wood to bring it back to health like a good moisturizer for cracked hands in winter.

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The original wooden pulls were also too damaged to keep so I replaced them with brass whistle knobs that match the brass keyholes in the top drawers.

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I was able to keep the original gold capped tapered legs however!

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To style it, I used my painter’s pallet and the most exquisite golden foliage I could find.

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GAH! This is why it’s my favorite time of year to style with tree branches!!! (I can’t help myself - just see here and here and here).

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Pop of Red 8 Drawer Dresser
Now Available for Sale
33.5”W x 18”D x 48”H
$495


If you are interested in this piece or a custom order like it, email me at cate@stylemutthome.com

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Wall Mount Task Lamp || 2018 Flip List Item No.6

I did it again.  I took apart three light fixtures just to Frankenstein one.  This would be the fourth lamp I've built or rehabbed which means I may have a problem.

DIY Brass Chandelier

Geometric Lamp Copycat

Little Orphan Lampie

It started (like it always does) with a handful of parts that piqued my interest at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore. I wanted to replace the angular brass shade with the matte black one but couldn’t figure out to attach it so that it could adjust in any direction I needed.  So I brought the parts home to my workshop and added build a wall-mounted task tamp to my Furniture Flip Bucket List

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But then I found this interesting lunar landing light fixture with four articulating brass shades.  

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So I promptly harvested one to complete my fully adjustable assembly:

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My new lamp swivels

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The shade articulates

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And the brass pole can go up or down while staying mounted to the wood block on the wall.

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Oh yes and I have a new dresser to share too ;)  

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When I shared the original dresser on my Instagram stories, I had asked you about color for this piece.

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Admittedly, some of you baulked when I whispered I may be thinking orange for this one.  But I stuck with my vision and found the perfect mid-century inspired orangey-red for this one.

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Even though I painted the entire body, I kept the tapered legs in the original finish.

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I kept the original brass hardware too.

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The extra warm tone to this piece made it especially fun to style with a pop of turquoise and some delicious terracotta.

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I'm liking this color so much that I'm not listing it to sell in the warehouse just yet.  But in the meantime, at least I can cross off another flip list item.

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Five down, Two to go.  Catch up on the 2018 Furniture Flip Bucket List: