The Mexican Dresser

If you hadn't heard, I was selected by CeCe Caldwell's Paints to be a Brand Representative last year. This is a HUGE honor for me, as I can honestly say I love her paints so much and I consider CeCe and Lauren good friends. I love the positive message her company sends, along with their dedication to healthy and toxin-free paints and finishes. That said between some military training that was several months long and a big move across the country for our family, it's been entirely too long since I've published anything as a CeCe Caldwell's Paint Co Brand Rep! I'm going back a couple of rounds to make up for the months I wasn't able to talk to y'all about my brand rep colors for my respective quarter.

Well, I lucked out and was sent a paint/finish/wax set that was full of some of my favorite colors. I present to you the majestic Emerald Isle, Hard Waxing Cream, Aging Dust, Bingham Canyon Copper Metallic Wax and Kukui Stain+Finish combo!

I certainly did a happy dance when I opened my new brand rep box. Thankfully, no one was around to document that part. Besides being somewhat obsessed with Emerald Isle, I was also happy that I didn't have to go on a hunting trip for the perfect piece for my colors. I already had it! So once again, I present to you...my Mexican dresser! 

Ok, before you go thinking I've lost my mind...this dresser is literally from Mexico. It was built in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico and it has the coolest raised carved details I've ever seen on a piece. My husband and I got to the sellers house as fast as was legally possible and hauled it away while looking around to make sure no one tried to buy it out from under us or steal it...that's how psyched we were. Maybe I'm exaggerating just a little, but my fellow furniture hoarders...er, collectors would know how I feel right?!

When we first brought it home I tried really hard to strip it down to bare wood so I could condition and eventually seal the natural finish. The top was pretty easy and straight forward. Then I started on the drawers....yeah. That dream was crushed pretty quickly. Those gorgeous raised details are a nightmare to strip! 

So to my husbands ever loving wits end, it sat in my garage for a few months. Then my brand rep package came and inspiration was born. I wanted to give it a vivid, yet weathered green with gold leafed accents and authentic hardware. I had to order the hardware from a vendor in Mexico, which was a little hard to wait for but it was worth it. 

Yep, totally worth it, until I realized the teardrop pulls were too big for the smaller drawers on the ends. Here comes Hobby Lobby to the rescue!

I'm getting ahead of myself, though. I decided that a stained top would contrast really well with the emerald green of the body. It took two coats of Emerald Isle. Apparently, I required some supervision from time to time. This is Rooney, our kitten rescue, who took his job quite seriously. After the paint dried, I gave it a couple of coats of hard waxing cream and then aging cream. I tried to give each of the drawers a vignette effect instead of randomly or completely coating it. I feel like this made the gold details really stand out in the end.

Sometimes a bit TOO seriously.

These red roses were gorgeous and gave it the perfect "Latin flair" for me. Something kept bothering me about them, though, and I decided they needed a golden touch...

I ended up using gold metal leaf on them and then using CeCe Caldwell's Bingham Copper Metallic Wax to give them a rich and warm luster. It made all the difference in the world!

 So here it is, after hours of painting the glue on and then carefully laying and brushing the metal leaf on not just the raised details but also on the imported hardware. I love the final look, it's pretty striking. This was already a piece we had decided to keep. I hope you enjoyed seeing the process. Here are some pictures of the finished piece. Love to all, Claudia.