"Blue-tiful" Blue Dresser

I've kind of fallen in love with vintage French Provincial pieces. But they are really popular here in Southern California and are hard to find at reasonable prices. So when I spotted this highboy at a garage sale, I knew it had to come home with me.

Here's the before...

I usually go over furniture before I buy it to see if there are any major structural defects to know what I'm getting myself into and if I think I can fix it. With lessons from my dad, I can now repair loose dovetail joints and drawer tracks, peel and patch veneer, as well as a host of other problems that can sometimes happen with antique and vintage furniture.

This dresser, however, had a problem that stumped me. It was wobbly - which I initially thought was because the legs weren't even. But on closer inspection, the legs were level and weren't causing the the dresser to sway from side to side when I put pressure on it. I even turned it upside down and tightened all of the screws on the inside structure, but it was still swaying. I was stumped and once again had to call in my dad to rescue me and my "junky furniture", as he affectionately calls it!

He immediately saw the problem to the "shimmying" - as he referred to it. There was a problem with how it was originally built! On each inside corner there was a triangular block of wood that acted as a stabilizer. But one corner didn't have the block in the right place! It must have been swaying its entire life! So we removed that piece, placed it in the right place flush with both corners and with a lot of glue (don't worry, I cleaned up all this glue before it had a chance to dry) and an overnight clamp, and she was as good as new! Well actually, better than new!

The separation on the front was the result of the incorrectly positioned block!

After a very thorough sanding she was ready for her beauty treatment! I used General Finishes Persian Blue and then sealed it with their topcoat. I kept the original hardware and spray painted it black and then sealed that as well.

Here she is all ready for her new home! I love, love, love this color blue! It's such a soft, subtle blue....

I lightly sanded between coats to achieve this smooth finish...

No more wobbles or separation!

Didn't she turn out gorgeous?

So that was the happy ending to my "swaying" dresser. Have you ever had any furniture that you were stumped at fixing? Call my dad! You may have to feed him lunch, though! (He likes turkey on whole wheat, lettuce and tomatoes.)

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!

I'm Sharing at:

Anything Blue Friday, DIY Sunday Showcase, Silver Pennies Sundays, Amaze Me Monday, Metamorphosis Monday, Inspire Me Tuesday, The Scoop, Be Inspired, Wow Us Wednesdays, Furniture Feature Friday, Be You Tiful