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Staining A Dresser With A Decorative Flower Pattern

We just flew back from Boston (and boy are our arms tired, har-har) but since we shared our freshly painted bathroom with you guys this morning and we didn’t want to leave you hanging with just one post, we got this Reader Redesign together in the airport for ya (throughout all this travel, we’re doing out best to keep blogging as usual). I know we typically share full room makeovers, but this furniture upgrade had such a creative twist that we had to pass it along. We loved that Beth and Nick rescued this old to-be-trashed buffet with the help of some wood stain applied in an unexpected way. Here’s what Beth had to say about the project:

Hi guys! I love drawing with charcoal, and I decided that I was going to try the same techniques, only using stain on wood, instead of charcoal on paper. It came out so well, we just had to share it with you!

Stain 1 Before

We pulled this buffet out of a burn pile, repaired the burn damage and fixed a structural problem, prepped, primed, and painted the body. Then I drew out some flower petals lightly with a pencil on the top surface of the buffet and began staining with Minwax Ebony. I started with the center petals and stained each petal, starting at the center and working my way out toward the tip of the petal.

Stain 2 Starting Stain

As you can see I didn’t stain all the way out to the edge of the petals, because I wanted that to be the lightest portion of my ‘shading.” Using a dry cloth and my finger, I wiped away from the stain to allow a smooth transition from the stained portion to the outer unstained portion of my petal. Rubbing it to create that shaded look. I continued to repeat this process on each petal as I worked my way away from the center of the flower.

Stain 3 Process

I’m soooo super proud of myself. Hope you love it! – Beth & Nick

Stain 4 After

Stain 5 Just Blue

Isn’t that such a cool idea? For those who might shy away from the painted bottom, you could easily stain the front/sides of a piece and apply this treatment to the top as well. Makes me feel like such a staining novice. But now I’m kind of itching to think of a piece that we could try this on. And it makes me realize that if such an intricate design is possible, someone could attempt something like stripes or tiled triangles too (perhaps with the help of some painters tape?). So if you’re looking for more pics and details about the process, be sure to visit Beth and Nick’s blog, and if anyone else has tried something fun with stain we’d love to hear how it all went down.

Comments

  1. alg says

    #OVERTHEMOONFORTHIS
    Beth — A grand tip of the upcycler’s hat to you — Coolest thing I’ve seen in a while!!!
    Will check out your blog, for sure :)

    Reply

  8. Eve says

    Holy. Whoa. Totally love this! Totally outstanding job! Makes me want to try a henna-esque linear design on a sanded tabletop! (did I mention we have a dining table to fix up? haha…)

    Reply

  9. Megan says

    Absolutely stunning! This is very impressive and gorgeous. As with most other commentors, I don’t think I have the talent to do something so beautiful!

    Reply

  18. Junkin Revival says

    I loved this so much that it was mtg inspiration on a few tables :) if you would like to see mine on Facebook it is under the page Junkin Revival ( and course kudos to Beth she has Amazing talent!)

    Reply

  24. Claire says

    This is, by far, my favorite Reader Redesign you’ve featured that wasn’t an entire room. Heck, it might even beat the entire room makeovers you post, too. What a gorgeous result!

    Reply

  41. Samantha E says

    that is gorgeous! I cant wait to have a house and not a closet apartment in NYC (im sure you guys can relate) and not have all of my furniture exclusively from Ikea. (although i love ikea)

    Reply

  44. Stefani says

    That’s awesome! What a fantastic and original furniture make over!!

    Just finished reading your book (while simultaneously cross-checking with your behind-the-scenes post) – took me a few days but I love your book and am looking forward to having it out on display, whipping it out for future inspiration, and sharing it with friends!!

    I think it would be awesome if you could do a whole book filled with Reader Redesigns. I just love seeing all the amazing and creative and jaw dropping before and afters and having a whole book full of different ones would be so fun! Just an idea :)

    Reply

  46. Lindsay M says

    Oooooooohhhh!!! Brilliant!!! I’m refinishing dressers from 1916 for my nephew (and sister & bro in law) for his first Christmas! I’ll be staining the tops of them now with a geometric design!!! Thank you!!!!

    PS- I’ll send you guys pictures once I’m done!

    Reply

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