Refinishing An Old Dresser That I Found On the Curb | Furniture Restoration & Repair

[@xdoctorblindx]

Does anyone else love the sound of the birds chirping in the background?

[@DashnerDesignRestoration]

I do.

[@davidawilliams252]

Me. Peaceful and relaxing.

[@NewHopeAudio]

outside of this guy’s amazing and truly professional restoration work, the video presentation is what sets him apart from pretty much everyone else on KZbin.

[@petestaint8312]

Love it too!

[@laurendao4467]

Yes! It’s part of what makes his videos so relaxing!! I’m so glad it gets left in.

[@kimberlyvillanueva5817]

A couple of weeks ago, The New York Times recommended your channel. I was so pleased that they appreciate your talent as much as this subscriber.

[@Bettycrockrr]

Oy! Love hearing “schmutz”. It makes my inner Yiddish grandma happy.

[@tututaurus]

Is this a thing in the English language to use Schmutz?

[@tututaurus]

@@BRPeterYoga but is it common to use it in English?

[@tututaurus]

@@BRPeterYoga ah I see

[@fennecbesixdouze1794]

@@BRPeterYoga It's pretty common in the Midwest even outside of Jewish communities, probably because of the large prevalence of Lutheran German immigrants in addition to German-speaking Jewish immigrants. "Schlep" is another word that has transcended yiddish and entered the mainstream North-American lexicon, probably again because it's mainly of German origin. Yiddish words that have predominantly semitic origin without the German seem to be less prevalent in mainstream North American culture, probably "Chutzpah" is the most popular of those.

[@ochoch9345]

Shmutz = filth, dirt, grime, residue, detritus.

[@valeriehowden471]

This dresser was happy you were the one that found it on the curb.

[@Yokiter]

I can't get over how calming these videos and your voice are, you should do audiobooks

[@petercolquhoun2086]

Check out James Condon channel. Could be the same guy doing generator repairs.

[@neonskyline1]

sounds similar to the guy doing hollywood graveyard

[@ranivaishnava8267]

Sir your voice is so soothing as the finest sandpaper on my stressed and warped knots helps all warping of stressful treatment of life God bless you now I can sleep blissfully 🙏

[@paul-zx5du]

Love the scraping sounds. Thank you for not adding music.

[@lesliejohnson7247]

Love this piece. It makes you wonder how someone could toss a solid walnut dresser! Glad you found it!

[@talleysuehohlfeld3959]

It was old and beat-up, that’s why.

[@duceagle6625]

People who didn't want it in their living space anymore (either because it was beat up or didn't fit with the rest of the decor), had nowhere else to store it and didn't want to go through the hassle of selling or donating it. I know I've been guilty of putting a perfectly serviceable desk (it was just the wrong size for my needs) out on the curb, vaguely hopping someone would want it and take it, because I didn't have the bandwidth to sell it online and it was too heavy for me to carry to a charity shop on foot (don't have a car).

[@CGeeMan1211]

I wonder how anyone tosses half the pieces that I retrieve. So long as there is no ridiculous damage, everything is reclaimable. Such history, and may times, workmanship. I hate to see anything wasted...

[@BETAmosquito]

The joy I felt when you got that filled over screw moving, it was nothing short of watching the game winning goal in a soccer match

[@Conelpueblo]

No wonder the wood was "warped" - it is one, solid plank of walnut. A piece of lumber like that would be almost unheard of in furniture making today... One. Single. Plank... Wow.

[@robervar1097]

For sure . Might have been worth selling the top lol

[@victoriaegan6476]

I can't believe someone would leave this old dresser on the curb. I would have snatched it up myself. I love old furniture and have refinished several pieces.

[@GEOMETRICINK]

Same. I personally love finding mid century, walnut, pieces. So beautiful. It’s a great hobby to have 👍

[@ginaburgess9759]

Love how you're reviving this rather than trying to make it perfect.

[@lizday8140]

You very often prove that not everything has to look showroom perfect to be loved. That's nice.

[@DashnerDesignRestoration]

Thank you.

[@avyouandme]

I want you to know that every time I restore a piece of furniture, I come directly to your channel to make sure I’m applying the finish properly, etc. Best channel on KZbin.

[@dianes4858]

I do the same thing. I found this channel last summer when I was looking for advice on how to strip/refinish an old sewing cabinet to use as a bathroom sink vanity. Turned out beautifully thanks to all the instructions in his videos. 👍

[@michellepeters6532]

Absolutely the best restoration channel I’ve ever watched! It’s hard to stop watching and go back to any other channel.

[@johnthomas1970]

Nice work on the dresser's top. I am curious if you ever made a follow-up video (link?) to restore the base of this dresser?

[@seeingthepattern]

I got back from a long drive with my head buzzing. Opened up my phone ... and there’s a video I know will soothe my frazzled nerves. Another fantastic job on another lovely piece. I want to be just like you when I grow up.

[@danielhall3151]

Wow! Even the square plug is hardly visible! Great work! Thanks for sharing.

[@donsuggs4150]

Love this channel...Dashner Design makes videos about the furniture restoration process, not about himself. The results are always beautiful. Bravo!

[@Sunshine-my1vd]

That came out beautiful. What a unique design, too. You see the potential in furniture and then bring out the beauty that is hiding beneath years of use. Can't wait to see it when it's all done.

[@DashnerDesignRestoration]

Thank you.

[@jill552]

That looks beautiful. Shellac is a wonderful repairable finish.

[@DashnerDesignRestoration]

Thank you.

[@jaymzx0]

Shellac is underrated these days. I love how a fresh coat of shellac dissolves into the previous layer as seen when he re-coats the drawer boxes.

[@eggsngritstn]

@@jaymzx0 Agree. It is easy to work with, and it's natural, too.

[@dscordobab]

@@DashnerDesignRestoration Did you apply only one diluted coat?

[@airenurse1]

I love watching this channel, no quick fix, chalk paint, cover up stuff here. Just real respect for the pieces and the woods they are created from. Thank you!

[@KatherineTheGr8t]

After seeing so many articles of furniture decimated with paint, it's nice to see your light touch repair & restore this dresser with nothing more than the same species of wood & shellac - beautiful : )

[@AlexisTwoLastNames]

the painted furniture era of the 00s and 10s was a sad time for many nice pieces lol

[@markwellington1254]

Very nice job on the top! I agree with your stance on only going so far to restore this dresser as it has the character of living a full life on it's own.

[@semloclusa1630]

Great Video! I enjoy rescuing old furniture myself. Especially made of real solid wood. People just get rid of these great quality pieces and replace them with particle board crap. And thank you for NOT putting music in the background. Your commentary and the birds are the best.

[@margeryk000]

Looking forward to part 2! That top looks awesome. Thanks for sharing another great video. ATB

[@heyhope326]

Thank you for helping me through a night of congestion and sleeplessness. 👍 Keep up the good work!

[@maryperner9625]

"schmuts" -- loved it. Brings back memories from my Milwaukee German neighborhood. This is an expression I never hear in California.

[@cynthiarafferty7662]

Someone built a nice piece of furniture out of walnut and through the years others really abused it. Did it have a mirror piece that fit on the top drawers for a dresser? A side table for a small dining room perhaps? You really know what you are doing with refinishing furniture. I've watch a few other "refinishing" furniture videos and they don't even know how to use stripper properly or anything about oxalic acid. To me that's crazy if you're going to do furniture refinishing the correct way, the way you do for beautiful results. The top looks beautiful. I cannot wait to see you working on the bottom.

[@thebigone6969]

You’re the greatest ever fam!!! The Michael Jordan of furniture restoration!!!!

[@revampglam4490]

I admire your connecting to each piece and letting it's personality just be, whether rustic, aged, modern, etc..

[@aeong_bread]

yay a new upload :) these videos always make me feel better, it's so relaxing to see something old get a clean up, it's almost therapeutic

[@AP20680]

Ha, first! Always happy to see a new video of you. Since it's bedtime here perfect timing. It's so calming.

[@DashnerDesignRestoration]

Thank you.

[@namewithoutdigits]

🍪

[@amymerrill5758]

I appreciate that you restore these finds. Many people paint over the beautiful wood, instead of restoring it. Thank you for sharing your work!

[@aaronandrews3059]

That is really a handsome piece of furniture. Miss seeing the brick wall from that apartment at your old place, but the birds and grass are so relaxing. Love seeing your videos.

[@sharosmith]

Such a beautiful piece, and so happy you restored it. They don’t make furniture like this anymore!

[@pteddie6965]

The top looks very nice. It reminds me of a piece that was in my grandmother's bedroom back in the 50's. Thanks for sharing this video.

[@colleenrobison4070]

That is a lovely chest of drawers. Nice work.

[@wokohedgehogs]

Beautiful piece of wood, my father used to buy old 1920’s etc wardrobes in the UK that nobody wanted and took them apart purely for the oak that they were made from. It gave him a great stock of what would be very expensive timber. People don’t realise the value of the materials that they are throwing out.

[@emilykrahn3185]

Wow I'm amazed it came out so beautiful and smooth ...no staining, just shellac and buffing with, it looks like, a colored wax-- just looks really good.

[@buffalocentric]

The top turned out really good. Especially for "rustic". I love the character of the plugged hole and the square to replace the knot.

[@167curly]

It must be so satisfying for you to restore such a fine example of quality furniture. The former owners must have hoped that someone with your skills, knowledge and patience would rescue it. The history of this piece would be fascinating.

[@johannepoirier3327]

You’re so calm and patient, so relaxing and satisfying to see you work 👏

[@DashnerDesignRestoration]

Thanks for watching.

[@williambabbitt7602]

I really enjoy your work. I love your choice of words, Schmatz. You gotta be from Pennsylvania, Minnesota. Or Illinois. Thank you so much for taking such good care of these old pieces. They will outlast all of us, and they should!

[@alisonburgess345]

Great job here Dash. If it'd been found by some other furniture flippers, it'd have been painted. Lots of people criticise them, but they manage to sell them and save them from landfill, as well as refinish the tops (unpainted) often. I do prefer your treatments though, especially for the teak pieces. This walnut though is especially beautiful timber.. Looking forward to Part 2!

[@indie825]

I would have grabbed that little dresser too. Such a nice, simple piece. Love the choice of shellac and wax finish. It looks beautiful. Great job.

[@nataliemiller2856]

I love the schmutz comment, reminds me of my dad. You do such lovely work, really beautiful restoration

[@Flavum]

So not only do you have a talent for furniture restoration, but you're also a musician (I saw the Epiphone shipping boxes in the background)? My respect just went up another notch. Bravo!

[@dianes4858]

You should go back to one of his early videos that has him playing as the video plays. There’s no voiceover, just some really awesome guitar tunes he wrote himself. 👍

[@Shuggysmama]

Turned out perfect, can't wait to see it all redone and back together. Thanks

[@jodirauth8847]

The birds are beautiful as well as the finish on the furniture

[@131dyana]

Thank you.

[@ltellis63]

It's so nice to see furniture restored and given a new phase of life rather than just discarded and ending up as trash. I also truly enjoy watching the restoration process.

[@Tim-57]

Hey DDR What a beautiful piece of furniture. Look forward to part 2. Take care

[@angelamoran1479]

Very satisfying watching you scrape the shmutz off the top. Beautiful job

[@anneandrews7053]

Awesome, love how you left the character of it! Pretty!

[@mary95220]

I literally have a dresser so similar to this that I'm about to restore. So helpful to see this video!!!

[@Arizona74Frog]

Looking forward to the update on this dresser….Again thanks so much for your awesome restoration be blessed

[@olgapaulus7299]

Good job. Looks great and you didn't have to do too much to make the top descent.

[@grammybear4226]

🐼 Big Bear Hugs from a 67 yr old grandma in Kirby, Texas, USA 🐼 🖤

[@johnclayton1026]

awesome glad noone found it and put latex and polka dots on it.

[@ava_f]

I loved the shellac tips, thank you for sharing. I always learn something from your videos.

[@deadlysquirrel5560]

At 30 seconds in, I love it already!

[@rsolsjo]

This may be the strangest comment ever, but this reminds me a great deal of the way we restore older music, and when people ask about it I usually use furniture as a metaphor to explain it. One way to restore old music is to simply go back to an already existing mix of a song, maybe tweak the volumes a little, remove some noise, etc. That's akin to finding an old piece of furniture and perhaps dusting it off, maybe giving it a quick new paint job. Still the same old thing underneath. (They usually just slap the word "remastered" onto it afterwards). The other way is to create a brand new mix and that's akin to what you are doing - going back to old source elements, breaking everything down into unique components again, restructuring everything with new tools, stripping away imperfections (hiss/cracks), and finally and very methodically building it all together again in a better way that's meant to last, and finally polishing the entire thing for viewing/listening. It's the same item at heart but you've given it brand new life again.

[@MDaly-mu5tm]

Beautiful. Such great videos, I always appreciate that you walk us through these pieces....and the whole restoration process. Thank-you for sharing those old school skills with us :)

[@ggmax2958]

Good job on that top. I love the piece even more since it is handmade. I knew this was going to be a 2 part video.

[@velmacoffey3763]

New subscriber here. I also refinish, not just paint. How anyone could toss a piece like this is beyond shortsighted!

[@paulnipper4071]

Good find .... looking good. My wife and I refinished a homemade Hoosier cabinet about a year ago. It wasn't perfectly square, but it worked out.

[@goldenmagnolia333]

It was so nice hearing your voice again. Looking forward to part two! As always, great work! 🤩

[@DashnerDesignRestoration]

Thank you.

[@cbturner]

Lovely gentle restoration. And well done on getting rid of that schmutz...

[@brn52]

One of the best videos that I have come across on restoration. Well done, to the point, and all with calming voice!

[@jeanclaudeangri1108]

The plug in the top was from a pedestal mirror that was originally on this piece. Plenty of them got removed. They always got in the way.

[@carmenm.4091]

Wabi sabi, I love this piece. Very nice for in a country home or farm. Some furniture styles don’t need to be perfect.

[@Timhey0912]

I love this chest of drawers too. The walnut is beautiful!

[@logan9417]

Beautiful!

[@DashnerDesignRestoration]

Thank you!

[@jeanniealford4234]

I love your work. You explain as you go without much talking. Waiting for the next video.

[@DashnerDesignRestoration]

Thanks. I just uploaded one this morning.

[@keithhepworth4934]

Wow, solid walnut. I can only imagine what that would cost today.

[@98Zai]

I love it! It's such a clean, ageless design. Will always be attractive! And you did a perfect job, truly a great restoration!

[@oneshotme]

Looks nice so far Enjoyed the video and I gave it a Thumbs Up

[@pbonniejean]

What a treasure! Pre-Civil War bachelor's chest. Probably had a standing mirror between the two smaller drawers on the top, for shaving. I congratulate you for your restraint in the finishing.

[@JSAC66]

It’s not that old, probably from the 1960s. You can look up the label.

[@TheCraftyMagnolia]

Solid walnut? Wow, what a find. It looks awesome!!

[@mokimmy6457]

Schmutz?!! I love it! What beautifully patient work you do!

[@myrestorations]

Great video 👍

[@cathyknapp9360]

You did an awesome job this is such a beautiful piece I cannot believe somebody through this to the curb I am so grateful that you found it to bring this beautiful piece back to life again thank you for sharing I have a number of pieces from my late grandfather and you've helped me with some tips on redoing these pieces have a great day God bless you cannot wait to see the rest of the dresser being done you are a true artist and a great teacher

[@elizabethbrower640]

My friend, you found yourself an antique. I think that’s mid19th century (1850) if not a little earlier. Good for you! Thank you for not using the dreaded machine sander. Very pretty

[@TheJojo01902]

I have a new respect for shellac after seeing you work with it. Very impressed.

[@dribblet]

Love to watch these videos, they are so calming

[@nancyhorner1094]

This is my favorite of all your videos. You show so much respect for something that seems to have been made with love and care. Thank you for not ruining it, as others might have done. Did you finish the bottom yet? I've been looking for that particular video, but can't find it here. Anyway, thank you for this channel. It provides a much needed island of calm for many these days, myself included.

[@caroltanzi29]

Steven: a solid walnut chest dumped on the road? Boy, I would love to travel your roads. Haha. Great job of restoration. The top looks super. Carol from California

[@mrdolby]

Again, a very interesting and relaxing video. I like how you pronounce Schmutz. Actually it sounded just right. Thanx for the great content!

[@whatif8408]

3:56 It was so satisfying to see that screw begin to turn!

[@JoeyZervoulakos]

Thanks bro for your videos! its very therapeutic to watch and learn much from your techniques! Please keep them coming!

[@heidifritz3053]

I have a beautiful old dresser that’s about 70 years old. It has a little damage and a little wear. I wish you could restore it for me. Lots of people might choose to chalk paint it but I love it for its rich honey tones.

[@lucrecialavigna7099]

The top looks very good, it was a great choice to leave it "rustic". I like how you keep the character of the furniture in your restorations.

[@puristgreen]

I love the word schmutz, and will be using it daily from now on. Thanks for your content, Benj (UK)

[@yhkimnable]

Another very comforting clip, love your calming voice, color and texture of walnut wood revived. Thank you♡

[@chandarussell]

I love walnut and would love to have a solid walnut piece. This is a wonderful dresser. I love the little drawers on top.

[@katharinatrub1338]

Great Work this lovely dresser top! I'm watching it for the second time. Still agreeable to listen... to the birds and your voice. Chuckle chuckle because I never managed to find 'the second video' with the rest of the dresser. Greetings from Quebec ; )

[@junesherlock425]

Walnut is my favorite wood

[@dianes4858]

Another fine restoration. Looking forward to part two. Thanks for saving this heirloom.

[@JR-yx3po]

“Shmutz” made me laugh LOL 🤣. You never cease to please and entertain!

[@chrisdavis1722]

Great start to this piece. What luck to find a solid wood piece of furniture. The top turned out nicely. Looking forward to part 2. 👍

[@joec783]

I watched someone about a month ago do one just like this....she also removed the drawers on top. Can't wait to see how yours turns out.