What do you think I should do about this old dresser?
Dear fellow design junkies, we just bought a Victorian house, and there is an old wooden dresser (see picture) in the kitchen next to the fireplace. I'd always found it charming, but hadn't realised it was built in till we got the keys to the house and realised it's still here!
The previous owner left us some photos of the house taken about 2 decades ago, and the dresser was in one of the photos (albeit painted white). This made me think this thing may be older than I thought, perhaps really quite old??
It's made of a type of hardwood, and just smells and feels (to the touch) old. The wood is well worn, the inside of the drawers also shows its age.
The house itself was built before 1910 (so perhaps more Edwardian than Victorian), is there any chance this thing may even be original? Did kitchens/sculleries from that era have built in dressers? Original or not, I find it very attractive, and would like to try incorporate it into our new kitchen (perhaps shaker style), any ideas on how?? Thanks!
Tha
Comments (25)
PROSort Our Stuff
8 years ago
designsalmon
8 years agoThanks Sort Out Stuff for your good advice. You sound quite knowledgeable about fireplaces! This house has quite a few fireplaces all with fairly vibrant tiles (here is another example). Interesting you commented on the fireplace in the kitchen, as we were actually thinking of removing it and replacing it with a range hooker in the chimney breast. I feel a bit on the fence about this though, may start another thread about my kitchen layout!
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8 years agodesignsalmon
8 years ago
PROStella Michael
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoIt definitely looks original. I live in an Edwardian flat built in 1906. We have a built-in dresser and I would never dream of removing it. It was already painted white with tongue and groove as a backing and the counter left oak which we clean and wax occasionally.
The rest of the kitchen is an awful cheap 80s version which I've used as a canvas for now to hide the old doors until we install a new one. As ours is already painted I would be ok painting it a different colour so it is at least 'in conversation' with the new kitchen but don't want it too matchy matchy so may also keep it white depending on what other colours I use in the kitchen. People usually love it and ooh and aah over it, like I said, adds warmth and makes the room special, and a bit different. I lean towards the very modern and even dramatic so am pondering myself how to marry the two, and there will be a way, even just the colour maybe or not.
As yours is already stripped it would be a shame to paint over it although I can understand why you would, just take the time to consider. It may be worth painting a large piece of paper, taking one of the handles off if they just unscrew and wrapping the paper around the drawer and re-attaching the handle to see how it would look.
Consider making it a stand out piece rather than blend it in too much. From what I can see you can just leave it as it is and just use it. Also as it doesn't 'touch' the rest of the kitchen and is in a corner then even easier to make it special. You could put some lovely big baskets underneath to hide re-cycling or for things like potatoes and onions, or a wine rack. Old items add warmth to often clinical man-made surfaces and appliances in kitchens and yours is gorgeous.
Remember to post 'after' photos!
Photo is of my built-in dresser with current 'making-do' kitchen and additional cupboards until new modern kitchen materialises. It has brass handles on the bottom bit that were painted over so have been removed for cleaning.
designsalmon thanked Stella Michaeldesignsalmon
8 years agoThanks everyone for all your input and strong support for this lovely old dresser!! The general consensus is definitely to not paint it, which I must say I agree with. Jeanette - thank you for the tips on varnish, I will check next time I'm in the house.
Stellahome, your picture of your original Edwardian dresser has really convinced me that mine is most likely original also. I notice the way your shelving gets wider as you go up a level, and mine is exactly the same! You can't see it from the picture but there are also little hooks along the shelves, presumably for mugs etc. This dresser is the sturdiest thing ever, the drawers are very very roomy (as yours seem to be), much like the dimensions of kitchen drawers by the likes of Plain English and DeVol Kitchens, I hadn't realised how much their kitchens have been influenced by past designs. By the way, I'm curious how you know the exact year in which your house was built, how did you find this out?
Niki Markwick, I'm exactly the same as you, obsessed with original features and antiques, how old everything is etc, I've even been researching into the past residents of the house, this house has really captured my imagination (I've always lived in fairly modern flats). You sound very creative with the use of scaffold planks (!), post a picture for us!! I'm also really taken by these Victorian/Edwardian floor tiles, but most of the house (incl hallway and half of kitchen) has original floorboards so will keep to the originals. Yours looks beautiful, where are your tiles from? I've attached a couple of pictures of my hallway and my front door (I thought you might appreciate the stained glass windows).
I'm going to take a picture of my interior doors as I believe these are original also, they have been painted over, yet the paint seems to be covering some sort of pattern underneath, will try take a picture tomorrow and see what you guys think!
Niki Markwick
8 years agoHello there!
I'm all for research too and luckily have every single deed dating back to when my house was built in 1804 ... It celebrated its 211th birthday yesterday and crazy fool that I am, I put up a birthday banner and wished it many happy returns. I still have all the original sash windows and although some of them need a bit of a helping hand/shove!! to open, I'm so pleased to have them instead of their younger UPVC cousins
My tiles cost, wait for it, just over £2 each from Tile Magic and they look absolutely fab down. When I tell people what I paid for them they are absolutely astonished. Even if you added a 0 after the 2 people would pay it and they're 33x33 so go down in no time
Am attaching two photos ...
1. of my scaffold board work surface. They required a fair bit of sanding and the draining grooves were down with a router. I then used lots of yacht varnish and hey presto, job done for a fraction of the price
and
2. I also used some old wine crates, stainless steel cup handles, some hefty and some slightly more lightweight lumps of timber, scraps of copper pipe, an old clothes rail and the rest of a scaffold board to build this butcher(type) block. Very cheap, looks good and is extremely handy for all my pots and pans etc
I LOVE your stained glass front door. Absolutely fab and I bet when the sun shines through it, your hallway looks beautiful inside. Veeeery jealous
Last but not least, I have to ask, are you going to paint the spindles on the staircase and get a nice runner? I bought an offcut of carpet and had a co-ordinating edge added to tie in with my hall tiles and it really came out well. A number of times when I've opened my front door, people have said that it draws them inside and that being the case, all I would say is they're welcome to visit any time, especially when clutching a bottle of something wet and wild!
designsalmon
8 years agoNiki Markwick, your worktop looks really beautiful! very solid and nice natural colour, I never would have guessed where they came from! You've done a lovely job with the kitchen, with all the cosy touches, no doubt saving a lot of money along the way. Am currently going through the same process, and I thought I knew ebay but I am just rediscovering it again, all the bargains on there, unbelievable...
I said I'd post some pictures of the doors (the white one is the door from back lounge to the side return), as I have been wondering what is underneath all this paint? Especially this pattern on the panels, is it wood or glass?? doesn't feel like glass when I tap it...am mystified, should I get rid of all this paint, and expose the wood? what would it have been like originally? Painted or not?
On the topic of that painted fireplace next to the old dresser in the kitchen, I took a picture of it to a reputable fireplace shop (ward antiques fireplaces in southeast London for those interested, they stock incredible fireplaces and encaustic tiles), the guy said it is indeed Art Nouveau and he priced it at £3000, which I think is really optimistic, especially considering it is missing a hood! Still, definitely one to hang on to if I can at all help it, the fireplace guy also gave me some good advice about other missing parts on my other fireplaces (missing bars and grates), and when I went home and looked, quite a few were stuffed behind their respective hoods (covered in decades of dust and ash), it's like the house that keeps on giving!
For those wondering about the dimensions of the kitchen, it is currently 6.7m by 2.8m, we are hoping to extend it into the side by 6.7m x 2.4m, so there should be room for the old dresser and fireplace.
What an essay I've written, please help me figure out these doors!
Amber
8 years agohilly_mcgrew
8 years agolast modified: 8 years ago- PRO
Stella Michael
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agodesignsalmon you asked about how I knew which year my building was built. It's easy for me as it's on the actual building (for some reason I have 1906 in my head but it's 1903). I suspect it would also be on your house deeds if you own the freehold.
designsalmon
8 years agowow stellahome, what a grand house and entrance! I'm intrigued! Do you have many original features left in the house? servant bells maybe? :) Post some pictures for us!
I am very familiar with lassco, in fact I currently live 5 mins away from there, and pop in often, they have many wonderful items which really enhance an old house.Took a couple of more pictures today of the dresser, as even though it looks very worn, look at the dovetail joint details! They certainly don't make them like this anymore (unless you pay a hefty price for it!)
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