An Antiqued Dresser for Christmas Plus a Handmade Nativity
Happy Friday!
Have you decorated for Christmas yet? I absolutely love decorating for Christmas and was excited to get started. So, a few days ago, my husband pulled all the tubs down from the attic for me and placed them in the garage.
And then…
I took a furniture painting detour;)
You see, I’ve been wanting to change the dresser in my entryway for something a bit narrower for awhile now. And as I was looking at the Christmas tubs in the garage, my eyes glanced over at the dresser I had bought at an estate sale last month to fix up and sell. Suddenly, “ding”, an idea hit. That dresser just might work. So I measured it and it was a perfect fit.
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Here’s how my antiqued dresser started…
And check out these drawer liners….whoo, looks like my grandma’s old couch….
This little gem was sitting in the garage at that estate sale. I spied it (plus another little side table) and couldn’t believe that nobody had bought it. I mean it’s solid wood, on casters, has awesome keyholes, and the half-off price was $40! The little side table came home with me, too, and I’ll show that one to you as soon as I fix it up.
For this antiqued dresser, I primed it first because it was a very reddish orange and that’s always a risk for bleed-through.
Then, I tried a new paint called Dixie Belle in the color Sand Bar. This paint went on like a dream! It was super smooth and covered amazingly well. I bought the 16 oz size and used way less than half of the jar. I’ll definitely use this paint brand again.
Next, I sanded it down to distress it. I distressed this piece more than I usually do because I wanted it to look quite aged.
Finally, I did some antiquing with glazes and added some new pulls from Hobby Lobby to get the final result.
And here’s what it looks like now…
I really like how the primer is showing through in the sanded down parts. It gives another color and adds to the aged look….
Christmas in the entryway:
Of course I did wheel it (seriously, all furniture should be on casters!) into my entryway and dressed it up for Christmas….
The antiqued dresser now holds a jar with some berry branches propped up on a very old dictionary. And I also hung this rolled sheet music wreath that I made a few years ago. In the center of the wreath, I placed a vintage brooch…
My nativity set:
But my all-time favorite and my most treasured Christmas decoration is my nativity scene. I searched for several years (with no luck) for a unique nativity set. Then a few years ago, my sons took a pottery class and made one for me!
I display it inside a small crate with some faux greens and battery operated lights. The angel gets a little adhesive mounting putty for extra security.
Isn’t it cute?
And one more shot of the antiqued dresser before and after…
I hope you have a great weekend and get lots of Christmas decorating done!
Related: See my recently completed French country Christmas mantel here.
P.S. If you don’t already subscribe to The French Blue Cottage….
The dresser turned out amazing! Loved the nativity set too. What a warm and inviting entryway to your home.
Thank you! I think the style of this new dresser is more in keeping with the rest of my home.
I love your blog! The dresser and Nativity look so pretty!! I have great memories of creating this hand-made pottery with all of you!
Thanks, Robin! I was thinking of you when I wrote about my Nativity set and how much we enjoyed our pottery class!
This is wonderful Carrie! The dresser, the transformation, your story, the arrangement for your entryway, this site for telling your story… all of it is wonderful! So exciting to see!! And that precious nativity… Art in its purest form! Thank you for sharing all of this with us!
Thanks for your sweet comments, Debi! And I love that phrase you used, “art in its purest form”… it seems fitting for something sculpted by the hand of a child:)