Second Chances

Hi everybody! It’s been a busy week here at This Delightful Life! Lots of pieces coming in and going out, it’s positively exciting! I also took the leap and created a Facebook Page for This Delightful Life, so if you are into that sort of thing, please click here to visit and like the page.

In between it all, I was able to finish up a dresser that has been patiently for it’s turn over the last 3 months. My sister-in-law Jess texted me a while back asking if I was interested in a piece that was sitting on the curb at her job. If you know me, you know I JUMP at opportunities like this (and by jump I mean send Jeff and Bick to do the heavy lifting.)

The dresser represents the synthesis of why I love to renew old pieces. Here’s why: Jess is the Director of an elder care facility here in New Jersey. She is responsible for the happiness and well-being of several elderly people, a job which she does not take lightly. Her passion, conviction and for lack of a better word, talent, is inspiring. I love the way she loves what she does.

This dresser clearly had a long, happy life before it fortuitously came into my possession. Now, with a simple refresh, it’s ready to hold someone else’s possessions while they strike out on their own personal journey.

That’s the funny thing about good furniture… It was here long before us, and if we’re responsible, it will be here long after.

Here’s a look at the dresser when it first arrived… pretty good shape sans a missing piece of hardware and some cracking at the top:

The possibilities were endless here but I stayed neutral and went with a dark stained and poly’ed top and Annie Sloan’s Old Ochre for the body. I’m not a huge fan of chippendale handles so I opted for a more updated bin style pull. I had to fill and re-drill new holes for the bottom drawers, but otherwise it was smooth sailing.

I also tucked a little treat into the fold, a small, porcelain jewelry dish that belonged to my grandmother. As a little girl I used to root through it, playing with her costume jewelry, feeling like the prettiest girl in the world. I miss her dearly. I think she would have loved this piece and the sentiment behind it.

If you are an antique or hand-me-down lover, have you ever thought about the lives your possessions lived before they came to be yours? I find it so fascinating!

-LV xx