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Staining A Dresser With A Decorative Flower Pattern

We just flew back from Boston (and boy are our arms tired, har-har) but since we shared our freshly painted bathroom with you guys this morning and we didn’t want to leave you hanging with just one post, we got this Reader Redesign together in the airport for ya (throughout all this travel, we’re doing out best to keep blogging as usual). I know we typically share full room makeovers, but this furniture upgrade had such a creative twist that we had to pass it along. We loved that Beth and Nick rescued this old to-be-trashed buffet with the help of some wood stain applied in an unexpected way. Here’s what Beth had to say about the project:

Hi guys! I love drawing with charcoal, and I decided that I was going to try the same techniques, only using stain on wood, instead of charcoal on paper. It came out so well, we just had to share it with you!

Stain 1 Before

We pulled this buffet out of a burn pile, repaired the burn damage and fixed a structural problem, prepped, primed, and painted the body. Then I drew out some flower petals lightly with a pencil on the top surface of the buffet and began staining with Minwax Ebony. I started with the center petals and stained each petal, starting at the center and working my way out toward the tip of the petal.

Stain 2 Starting Stain

As you can see I didn’t stain all the way out to the edge of the petals, because I wanted that to be the lightest portion of my ‘shading.” Using a dry cloth and my finger, I wiped away from the stain to allow a smooth transition from the stained portion to the outer unstained portion of my petal. Rubbing it to create that shaded look. I continued to repeat this process on each petal as I worked my way away from the center of the flower.

Stain 3 Process

I’m soooo super proud of myself. Hope you love it! – Beth & Nick

Stain 4 After

Stain 5 Just Blue

Isn’t that such a cool idea? For those who might shy away from the painted bottom, you could easily stain the front/sides of a piece and apply this treatment to the top as well. Makes me feel like such a staining novice. But now I’m kind of itching to think of a piece that we could try this on. And it makes me realize that if such an intricate design is possible, someone could attempt something like stripes or tiled triangles too (perhaps with the help of some painters tape?). So if you’re looking for more pics and details about the process, be sure to visit Beth and Nick’s blog, and if anyone else has tried something fun with stain we’d love to hear how it all went down.

Comments

  1. marjo says

    Just read Caroline’s blog and noticed she apologized for cables showing. Have also noticed you and John have a lamp cord showing behind/under your buffet. Have you considered doing a tutorial on some cord management techniques?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yeah, you can just use cord wrangling things (they sell them at Bed Bath & Beyond and office supply stores) to tuck them up. We usually don’t see ours in real life (the tripod that we use to shoot is at a shorter height than a person’s head, so you see more in pics if that makes sense). Hope it helps!

      xo
      s

  2. Melissa says

    wow SO COOL. That has got to be one of the best up-cycled pieces I have ever seen! So inspired, desperately needing a buffet in my dining room so I will have to try this!

    Reply

  11. Christy says

    In. Love. Plain and simple. Now all I can think is, “Where can I do this in my house?” I bet staining a design on a headboard would look stunning and be a nice focal point in the room. Uh oh, the wheels are turning now!

    Reply

  21. Christina P (NS) says

    Oh my goodness – that is GORGEOUS!!!!!!!
    Job well done Beth, you should be super proud of yourself!!!!

    Reply

  22. Brenda says

    This is absolutely fantastic, I think stripes or something would be great too for those of us that aren’t as artistic!

    Reply

  25. Natalie says

    That is just amazing! I love the way it turned out and the blue color on the bottom is perfect! I don’t know I’ve got enough creative genes to even come up with something so cool much less do it and have it turn out “share worthy”! Totally impressed!

    Reply

  27. Stacey says

    Are YOU SERIOUS!?!?!?!?!?! THIS IS FREEGGGINN AMAZING I CAN’T EVEN BELIEVE THIS IS THE SAME BUFFET!!!!

    The color choice: AWESOME!!!
    The painted flower: AWESOME!!!!
    The reveal: SO AWESOME…

    WOOOOOWWW! I LOVE THIS!

    Reply

  35. Vera says

    This is amazing! I’ve never imagined the possibilities of stain beyond just one whole application to a surface, this really has me inspired!!

    Reply

  37. Chez says

    What kind of stain would you use to do this? I’m a staining rookie, but I’d love to give this project a try – if it ends up looking terrible I could always paint over it!!

    Reply

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