In an effort to stick to my self-imposed decorating schedule, I thought I'd go ahead and post the "before" photos of a project that I hope to complete in the next few weeks. Last month I scored this great Hollywood Regency-style dresser off eBay for a fraction of the price of a new sideboard and after some simple upgrades (paint, hardware), I think this piece is going to be a real show stopper in Dave's study. [By the way, if you're in the market for vintage furniture, the seller TS & Company has a great selection of Hollywood Regency, Chinoiserie and MCM furniture available at their eBay store. Right now I have my eye on this pair of end tables.]
One of my major criteria when buying furniture off eBay or Craigslist is to stick with well-known brands. For example, this piece is by Thomasville so I had a pretty good idea ahead of time (a) the quality of the piece and (b) what a reasonable price would be for this item. Other brands to look for when shopping for furniture include Hickory Chair, Drexel Heritage and Baker. All of these companies have been in business for years, manufacture their products here in the U.S. and can be relied upon for consistently producing high quality, long lasting pieces. Another major rule for buying vintage online is to look for pieces where the seller has provided a lot of photos and a detailed description not just of the piece, but of its condition. It's best to know every major flaw before you bid. Another tip: get a shipping quote ahead of time (most dealers will provide this for you upon request). I've made the mistake in the past of bidding on (and winning) a "great deal" only to see that deal look not-so-sweet once I caught wind of what it was going to cost to ship.
Besides its chic faux-bamboo detailing on the outside, one of the primary reasons I picked this piece was for all it had going on inside. The ample storage (the dresser comes with 11 drawers in total!) should be enough to hold all of Dave's many collections and files with some room to spare while the best pieces will hold pride of place on the top. If I had my druthers, I'd also put a pair of these derrick tower lamps atop it (not only do I like the shape and the antique brass finish, but they seem rather fitting given Dave's job as an engineer at a major oil field services company):
Alas though, Dave wasn't as ardent a fan. But back to the task at hand....My plan is to repaint the sideboard in a high-gloss red-orange, something along the lines of this foo dog:
The bold red-orange will make a serious impact against the dark teal walls and, since Dave isn't afraid of color, this will be an excellent opportunity to play with a color combination that I've been wanting to try ever since I saw this Houston study (designed by Rob Southern) in House Beautiful:
I'm thinking Benjamin Moore's Tomato Red might be the right shade, but I'll need to see it in the context of the wall color (Benjamin Moore's Slate Teal) to know for sure.
The one decision left to be made though is the hardware. I'm currently debating whether or not to try and refinish the existing hardware to restore the existing brass hardware or install new hardware altogether -- what do you think? Should I try and polish these babies back to their former glory or remove them in favor of some more modern hardware?
