Friday, September 21, 2012
Great Grammy's Vanity
Isn't it funny what we remember from our childhood?
I DON'T remember getting my finger caught in a heavy door at school and almost loosing the tip of it, an event that my mom remembers in full detail and tells me was quite gruesome.
But I vividly remember my great-grandmother's 1921 dressing table.
I remember the exact place where it sat in my parent's bedroom. (My mom had inherited it from her grandmother). As a girl I used to sit at it and pretend I was "Mother" from the Disney movie Peter Pan, getting ready for her glamorous evening out. I remember loving the shape of the mirror and the delicate detail of the flower on the knobs. I remember my mother's bottle of perfume she stored on top of it, and if I close my eyes I can still smell the scent.
When my parents got a new bedroom set, the vanity went into storage. Recently I rescued it.
I had big plans.........
The veneer on the top drawers was damaged. My dad helped me put wood filler on the top, then sand it down to blend.
Using a medium grit sanding wedge I gave the whole dresser a good sanding. Since I was using a primer, I didn't have to get too crazy with the sanding. I do like to sand furniture first though to help remove any dirt.
I then wiped it down with a clean cloth.
It took two coats of primer (I used Zissner).
And two coats of paint (Sherwin Williams ProClassic in "Snowbound". ProClassic is a alkyd enamel paint used for doors and trim, making it a great choice for furniture).
After I had let the paint cure for a week, I lightly buffed in a soft furniture wax to help protect the finish.
The original set came with a small stool with wicker as the seat. I was afraid my 4-year-old would break the wicker by jumping off of it doing "gymnastics" so I opted to use this $3.00 chair I found at a yard sale. It was already painted white, but was pretty scratched up. We sanded, primed, and painted it a pretty shell pink.
That picture makes me so proud :-)
Ready for the big reveal...........
Ta Da!!!!!!
I can't even begin to tell you how much it means to me to have this vanity in my home, especially in my daughter's room. I never knew my great-grammy, but my mom speaks very fondly of her. This dressing table feels like a big hug from her up in heaven. A way to connect the five generations among us. Great-Grammy had purchased the vanity in 1921 on her as part of her bedroom set. They paid $.25 a month on credit until it was paid for, a fact my Grammy tells me that her father hated. He felt very strongly that if one didn't have the money for something, he simply did not buy it. Hmmmm... sounds like a good plan in current day economics, huh? ;-)
The only thing that worried me was wondering if my great-grandmother would mind that I painted it.
Both my mom and grammy assure me that she wouldn't have ;-)
<3
Thanks for visiting!
~Angela
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5 comments:
You'll never know how much it warms my heart to first, see this vanity; second, to see this vanity restored and now being used by my granddaughter; and thirdly, to know that it will be taken care of and hopefully be passed along to future generations. I KNOW my Grammy is smiling at you/us and soooo happy to be a part of her great granddaughters' life. You make me sooooo proud, Angela. How did I get so lucky??!!!!!!
Thanks Mom, for always being my bigest fan! I love you so much!!
I love vanities! This one is beautiful and it's so nice that it has a connection to your family.
Beautiful job!!! And just adore the photo of your daughter with her mask on!!!
Your newest follower - would love to have you come by and follow back when you have the time!
Hugs,
Suzan
Love it!!! Awesome idea, always need something to fill in empty space on DD room.
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