Mirror, mirror, on the wall...

I bought a vanity from Craigslist not too long ago, and decided that it needed to be refinished and some TLC. I noticed right away that it was indeed antique and had bakelite handles so I grabbed it up quick! I then started my on-line research of how to refinish with Danish Oil and how to clean bakelite. Coincidentally, I don't think I have sanded that much in my life! Here is a pic of the handles, before and after cleaning.

They were very stained and I was actually pretty shocked when they came up such a light color. You can see them sitting on the original color of the vanity, which was a dark brown 70's sort of shade (not attractive) and there was some mending needed. This is a picture of it with all the drawers pulled out. I did start with the drawers to see how much work it was going to take to get it to the color I wanted. I have some modern danish furniture and was shooting for something more in the link of that caramel, warmness that only danish modern can bring.

So, the trick to working with Danish Oil, I found, was the right kind of sanding, putting on enough oil, then waiting long enough for it to "dry", then wiping just the right amount off, deciding how much sanding to do between coats, and then when to stop putting on oil. Then when you are done sanding, coating, sanding, and coating, you then have to put a wax polish on it, which also takes more then one coat. You also have to "wax on, wax off". So needless to say my arms got quite the workout, but the outcome was so worth it.

I borrowed an old metal chair from my mom which needed a recovered seat. After buying some foam from JoAnn's and a $2.00 piece of clearance fabric for furniture, I had a chair! Now I have a great place to sit and put my make up on, or do my hair. I just love it, and love that I saved it. I don't know if I will ever refinish another piece of furniture again (especially with Danish Oil), but I can say that I did it at least once.