The Old...and the New

I had to use My Darling's camera from work, but I was finally able to capture images of the Original Dresser Project--nearly finished. "Nearly," because the fixture I have placed atop the basin is, in fact, the bathtub spout, because as of last night (when I took these), the faucet for the sink had not yet arrived. It has now, and it is this. I now have it sitting here, waiting to be put in place.......

.......but I digress.

Here are the results of all my work:


The basin set atop the dresser.


The beautiful embellishment on the middle drawer, and the original hardware returned to the drawer faces.



The gorgeous molding along the side corners and the bottom apron, and the beautiful sculpted feet. These were a challenge to get just right, for Pete's sake!


A lovely shot which shows the play of the light on the grain. I love this! Notice that on the edge of the top surface, just above the top drawer, about two-thirds of the way along the drawer face, the molding is worn down quite a way. Since the original piece once held a mirror, I have imagined a gentleman--having dressed, including a belt around his waist--leaning over to peer into the mirror, perhaps washing his face from a basin, or combing his hair. Years of this repeated action would certainly create a pattern of wear like this. I decided while stripping the original finish that I liked this bit of character history, and decided to just treat it like every other part of the dresser.

And here is the entire piece, set into the place it will remain (though it will need to be moved while I tile the floor, and sadly, we will have to drywall behind it.....more on that in a bit...):



The wood seen behind the piece is the original wooden planking which, once upon a time, sided our home. When My Darling removed the aluminum siding, and then the wooden siding, this lovely old wood was beatifully preserved. Apparently the builder used newspaper--either as insulation, as was popular at one time, or as his mark of time. The date on the newspaper is December 7, 1892. It includes advertisements for the Chicago World's Fair, and woolen boys' stockings and suits of clothing--an entire suit, including overcoat, for about $7. We plan to frame it safely and hang it here in the bathroom--perhaps even above the vanity, next to the mirror.

Sadly, because of the way things fit together, we're going to have to apply drywall to the wall behind the dresser. I wish it weren't so, but alas....if wishes were horses......

My next entry--a glimpse at the current project!