DIY Furniture Painting Fix Up of Karges Chest

 

A year or so ago I purchased a chest made by Karges knowing I would have to fix up the top surface.  I finally finished this project this past September. When I want to repaint a piece of used furniture, I search for the highest name brand quality I can find which to me is a company like Karges or John Widdicomb. They are probably the most expensive furniture brands made in America with the exception of bespoke custom made pieces. For the most part they are bench made with a lot of care taken by highly skilled workers.  They also retain their value more than other brands so even used you are not going to get them cheap. 

Here is the chest with the drawers removed sitting on the dropcloth ready to go.

 

I do not know when this piece was made.  I would not say it was mid century modern. Maybe made in the 1970's or so.  I think I paid around $515 for it delivered to the house.  I knew it had a dated painted top that was no longer in style and someone had left a drink on it too long and there was a circle where the paint had lifted off.

 

That's pretty ugly, huh? It is not marbelized, just some crazy black string lines all over. I considered for a long time what color I should paint the top.  I finally decided on a metallic gold because the drawers had inlaid brass.

Keep in mind this is NOT how a professional would have done this.  I had several requirements: 1) not to mess up the bottom 2) not to strip it down to the bare wood; and 3) make it liveable but not a high grade finish.  I was wanting a simple fix.  I did not use the kind of paint a pro would.

This is just paint from Lowe's. This is actually wall paint. Valspar Brilliant Metals line.

 

Here's the base coat going on. 

 

Here is the finished piece.  It has a calmer look to it now. I think it looks fine with the brass inlay on the drawers. Designers say you should have at least one black painted piece in a room to "ground" it, so I guess I am grounded. What I do like about Karges is the sound it makes when you close the drawers caused by the air rushing out.  It just has a very high quality sound to it.

I might add, if you have a project like this, do it right, don't do what I did. Since this is a water-based paint, I don't know how well it will hold up over time.  I might have to strip it down to the wood and do it right the next time.

All the best,

Summer

Photos: Swede

Comments

[Fabiola Alba]

Thank you for the tip. I think you did a terrific job, it looks very neat!
I might have one piece of furniture that's 30 yrs. old, it's been mine for that long. I just decided it's seen it's days...well, paint I mean... so one day I might just get myself to renew it, although I have never done anything near what you just showed!

XO
FABBY