Brasilia Dresser is Complete.

I was able to complete the Brasilia restore with a coat of satin polyurethane yesterday (yes I hate gloss poly Mr. Mod - made that mistake once, and never again).

I feel good about the restore.  Of course I wish I could have matched the stain color exactly to the original but in person this is pretty close and as I research other Brasilia triple dressers they look darker than mine was originally.  Maybe it was SO worn it had become lighter?

Anyhoo, here it is fully restored.  Not too bad huh?  See the complete process below.

Here it is in my front entry way.  It just fits the wall but I don't care;  I love it too much to sell it.  My very own Brasilia!  I'll use it as a credenza to store serving dishes, etc. The dining room is just to the left.  I have the matching mirror so once I refinish that I'll try it above in lieu of the white one.  

This is about 2 hours after the poly coat.  Just put on the hardware to snap some pictures.

Wow, looks incredible compared to what it was!

Look at those curves!  The hardest part of this restoration.

Restored to its former glory.  I love bringing dead pieces back to life.

See the whole process here.....

Before

Good grief! How would it even get that bad?

I stripped away most of the paint before sanding.  Hate this part!

After a couple of hours of sanding. Not as bad as you think though the curve part had to be done by hand.  

All sanded now and I just put on a pre-stain coating so the stain absorbs better.  30 minutes to dry.

This is with one coat of stain. I like the color but it needs 2 coats to even everything out.

and voila - Monday it's complete with a poly coat!  

I have the night stands to do and the mirror but I need a break!  Maybe in a couple of weeks.  

Project Brasilia Restore has begun!

I dedicated a couple of hours to my Brasilia triple dresser yesterday afternoon. It was a warm but windy day.  It seemed right.

Here are the dreadful before photos of the dresser and 2 night stands: 

I'm just glad it was only 3 drawers painted black. The seller planned to paint the entire dresser.  It's also spray paint which is hard to get off and out of the wood grain.  Ugh. 

Yeah, it needs some love.

The two night stands have been sprayed to death. Don't worry little friends, I'll bring you back.

Stripping, stripping away. Not fun.  Trying to think of other things while I strip this puppy.   Think happy thoughts, think happy thoughts. 

And a couple of hours and many, many sanding pads later, we have a near naked Brasilia dresser! Looks strange right?  

This afternoon I'll finish the curve door, the legs and the right side then it will be ready for detailing and a coat of pre-stain.  

It actually was not as bad as I was expecting. It must be because I love the line so much and am so happy to have my very own piece.

I hope to have the dresser complete by Sunday.  Keep you posted! The night stands might have to wait. I'm not looking forward to stripping them. That's the worst part.  

Brasilia Dresser and More Weekend Finds

After driving around with the Brasilia dresser and mirror in my Explorer for 4 days I finally unloaded it today.  I'm seeing it in the day light in all it's glory today and boy, it's a mess.  Three of the drawers have been painted black and the surface of the dresser is trashed. I will need to sand the entire dresser and stain it so it all matches. Okay, quite a job, but it's still worth it.  The two night stands are completely painted black so they'll need to be stripped, sanded and stained too.

Here is the dresser in my garage.   It's the "Triple Dresser" with a hidden center row of drawers.  One of the handles is missing but I do have it, thank goodness.

This is the photo I received from the seller.  As crappy as it looks I could tell it was Brasilia and knew I wanted it.  The mirror is pretty fantastic!!

The night stands are still up at my Mom's house.  I'll get them this weekend.  Here is the picture the seller sent to me.  Pretty bad huh?  

On a more positive note, this is what they will look like when I'm done with them: 

I'm not crazy about the style of the night stands. I wish it was this style: 

So, I think I'll refinish them and sell the set of 2.  I'm keeping the dresser, if I can fit it into my entry and use it as a credenza.  We'll see how it looks.

Here are other items I picked up that weekend from thrift stores.  My dining room has been taken over. No sunshine today so I can't photograph anything.  What a mess! 

I scored some cool stuff: a retro cork lamp, retro cut out lamp with light-up center, standing globe, wall clock, 1950's desk lamp, a 60's floor cushion, some starburst dinner ware, atomic magazine rack, small home decor, kitchen canisters and more.  Now, just need to clean them up, photograph and post.  Yeah, it's a lot of work.  

Roadtrip to Brasilia-ville!

Yesterday I traveled 170 miles one way to pick up my very own Broyhill Brasilia dresser set.  I drove from Encino, California to San Luis Obispo, California (for those of you that know California areas).  170 miles is not as bad as it sounds.  I've made this drive a hundred times before because I lived on the Central Coast the entire decade of the 90's.  I still have friends in the area. Plus, it's a beautiful drive.  And last but not least, it's Brasilia!  Of course I'd drive 2.75 hours for a 4 piece set at a ridiculous price!   Hey, my friend Mr. Modtomic drove 5 hours each way for his Brasilia headboard and nightstand!

I thought I'd take  you all along with me for the ride.  Let's go....

Leaving Los Angeles @ 2:30.  Brasilia, here I come!

About 40 minutes in.  On the coast in Ventura.  Ah, the magnificent Pacific!

Just over 1  hour in now.  Made it to Santa Barbara and I'm taking a shortcut on San Marcos pass hwy 154.  It winds through the mountains and into wine country and will save me 20-30 minutes in my trip!

Connecting back onto the 101 freeway.  We just went through the Los Olivos area; home of Micheal Jackson's now defunct Neverland Ranch.  

5:45 pit stop in Nipomo. Gotta pick up Mom!  Only 20 minutes from San Luis Obispo now.

Yay, the set is officially mine and packed in my truck!  Phew, just fit without an inch to spare.  Ahhh check out that mirror!  

Now off to San Luis' Thursday night farmer's market! 

And a quick stop to see how the disgusting "Gum Wall" is coming along since I've lived here. Status: A lot more gum! 

Not a bad trip right?  I'll post pictures of the entire set when I get back home on Sunday.  I'm hanging out with Mom for the rest of the weekend.  

I plan to still hunt for vintage even though my Explorer is packed. Hey, Mom can hoard some stuff for me and I can pick it up later right?