Eloise styled Armoire or Dresser

Thought I'd give you a look at a piece I just finished from a series I am working on (less art..more refinishing). I have always loved furniture that has been "re-created" with a fun theme and especially anything that is geared for kids...or adults that feel like kids.  I came across this abandoned armoire in a outbuilding out on a farm in Masonville Colorado. Here it is as it was found.

 After getting it off its side and brushing off the years of dust and cobwebs I got a better look at the piece. There was some damage and it most certainly would have to be taken down to the wood before I could start, but it a very sturdy hardwood piece originally by Lane that had potential.

It always surprises me how much sanding, scrapping, and elbow grease it takes to get some of these old factory finishes off...it really is a chore.I highly recommend if you ever try to tackle such a project that you work outdoors or have a serious dust collection system installed in your studio. Here is a sample of me after working before our collection system was installed. Thank goodness for the respirator! 

I was able to get everything cleaned off very well, repaired the various gouges and broken panels and got a strong coat of primer on the piece. I take great pride in making sure that the entire piece...all nooks and crannies, inside and out, top to bottom is fully cleaned, repaired and primed before moving on. Please excuse the lawn equipment in the background (moving is a pain)

I wanted to finish this piece with a young girl in mind and thought that taking inspiration from the wonderful creation of Kay Thompson and Hilary Knight's Eloise books would be just the ticket. In case you have not read any of them I would suggest heading out and picking up a couple to read with the children in your life. Here is a link to their work http://www.eloisewebsite.com/

I picked the colors that I thought would work well with the theme and found some high quality, and zero voc, paint to begin the fun part of the project with. the first coat on the body of the armoire really looked great and helped me finish my design ideas for the final piece. My camera battery died out so this shot is off of a hokey camera phone...but you get the idea.

The I really like the darker outside color with the accent of the lighter pink on the interior and upper drawer faces. I decided to swap the colors for the interior of the actual drawers and the drawer cavities (yes, all surfaces get painted even if they aren't on display). Breaking up the large panels I've done some fun striping and chose to do some minor black paint along the reveals plus gloss black hardware to pull it all together.

For the final decorative touch I decided to take the inner three drawers and tuft them in something that would lend to the look. I decided to go with a white and black damask material and custom pressed the buttons out of a matched fabric to the darker pink. I really like those drawers.

The final product is really pleasing and I believe would be quite at home in the Eloise shop at the Plaza Hotel on 5th ave in New York or...with some little girl who might share in her special magic.

Thanks for stopping by and if you have any questions feel free to email me and I will respond.  

Welcome

Furious Creation is an art design and creation studio located in Loveland Colorado that specializes in individualized and custom-crafted pieces in a variety of different mediums. When we aren't working on a commission, the team gets the chance to tinker on whatever projects have been sitting on our back burner which we make available to those that have a desire for our work. We do our very best to be as green as possible and regularly up-cycle as much of our materials as possible. From re-purposing furniture to salvaging scrap metal and glass, we strive for the smallest footprint possible. I will be posting up samples of our work, events you can see us at and any "open house" studio events we host.

Thanks for stopping by!