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Vintage 1970’s Dresser Becomes Modern BuffetA Dresser Revival

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Were people shorter back in the 70s? Seriously. Have you noticed how short furniture was back then. And antique furniture, well you can forget about it if you’re over 5 feet tall. I wonder if we’ve grown collectively over the decades?

Regardless, these days we like big, chunky furniture. Take this lovely French Provencal dresser circa 1970. I had a whole set very similar this when I was growing up and my bet is a lot of little girls did. And I have to say, I never realized how short it all was until now!

Once upon a time I purchased this set of lovely vintage French Provencal bedroom furniture and every client who’s looked at it since has said, ‘It’s too short’ and my reply has always been, ‘But we can add legs!’. No one took me up on it….

Until now! All it took were these marvelous claw and ball legs to take it from stumpy 1970s to tall, stately and 21st century!

It’s modern, yet traditional and completely timeless. And best of all, it’s tall!

See. Sometimes it’s as simple as just adding legs. I know a few certain someone’s who are kicking themselves right about now!

This particular piece, while it looks stunning in my dining room and I would very much like to keep it, will be going to live in a bedroom. I wish it were my bedroom.

In addition to adding a base for the legs and adding the legs; it was also necessary to redrill the holes for those awesome new pulls. The trick with that is, no one should be able to tell you did that when you’re done! New drawer tracks were installed as well because the years, and children, had not been kind to the original ones.

Do you see these stunning cup pulls? They are solid brass with a polished nickel finish. They are like little mirrors for your fingers and I am in love.

And as if they weren’t awesome enough already, my client asked, ‘Can they be monogrammed?’ and as my jaw hung open I replied, ‘I don’t know! Let’s find out!’. And we did!

And they are!

The moral of this is story is, my best design consultant is in elementary school.

The End

I’m sharing at…

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Filed Under: Client Files, Furniture Makeovers 40 Comments

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Comments

  1. reFresh reStyle says

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    Jamie, this is one beautiful revival! Those legs, those cup pulls…my heart just skipped a beat!
    Debbie

    Reply
    • Jamie Lott says

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      Thank you so much Debbie! 😉

      Reply
    • Anonymous says

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      JAmie, I just saw your site, what kind of paint do you use, I love live your items!!!! Can u help me, with some questions, my email is [email protected], please!!!

      Reply
  2. Karen says

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    Oh my… it’s stunning! I just love those drawer pulls. Do you mind if I as where you found them?

    Reply
    • Jamie Lott says

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      Karen if you’ll stay tuned I promise a post about this very thing will be coming soon! Thank you!

      Reply
  3. Indianalori says

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    May I ask where you get your legs? I’ve looked on-line, but they are pricey. I have a night stand just begging for legs!

    Reply
    • Jamie Lott says

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      They are pricey! But in the end they are cheaper than buying a whole new piece of furniture. I have a post coming up about these legs and where to find them. Stay tuned!

      Reply
  4. Bonnie T says

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    Adding legs. Who’d a thunk? I’ve been searching for a dresser to do ever since I saw your black redo with baskets replacing some of the drawers. The problems have always been the feet, or lack thereof. Thanks!!

    Reply
    • Jamie Lott says

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      Well there you go! Problem solved! Now go find that perfectly imperfect piece to redo. 😉

      Reply
  5. Youaretalkingtoomuch.com says

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    Tweeted and PInned and NOW I shall covet! Legs!!!! Genius!!!! Once again, you did it!!!! I love the “mirrors for my fingers”, that is such a “me” thing. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!! Great job! Love, Me

    Reply
    • Jamie Lott says

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      Thank you Rebecca!! I appreciate it!

      Reply
  6. Mott says

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    I have ruled out I don’t know how many dressers for conversion to a bathroom vanity because they were too short. And I have a set of those legs I got when a furniture store went out of business, plans were to make an ottoman. I will definitely be looking with new eyes.

    Reply
    • Jamie Lott says

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      I love that! Look with new eyes Mott and you shall find that perfect vanity!

      Reply
  7. Heather@http://southernabbey.com says

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    Good vision to see that it could use some legs. Clearly there were a lot of people (me included) that may not have come up with that. Looking forward to the post on where to buy….

    Reply
    • Jamie Lott says

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      Thanks Heather!

      Reply
  8. Melisa Olandez says

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    Great job!!!!! Just finished a project myself (hutch) with the same color and I was debating on copper or silver pulls and convinced on silver bc of your piece. Super well done!!!!

    Reply
    • Jamie Lott says

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      Thank you!

      Reply
  9. Kelly says

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    Someone should have taken you up on those legs sooner! They are fantastic.

    Reply
    • Jamie Lott says

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      Thank you!

      Reply
  10. Kelly Childs says

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    Do you put something over the paint to protect from chipping?

    Reply
    • Jamie Lott says

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      I always seal all of my pieces Kelly!

      Reply
  11. Kim@todayismysome-day says

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    Beautiful legs! Oh how many of us girls would love to hear that? 🙂

    Your piece is absolutely wonderful! The cup pulls really take it to the next level. Great job- again!

    Reply
  12. Ellen says

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    Jamie- can’t believe this piece! I have this EXACT same furniture that was purchased for me by my parents for Christmas when I was 12 years old – 1974! In all the pictures that I have seen of French Pro. re-do’s, I’ve never seen mine! My set is in excellant original condition and is presently being used by my mother in her bedroom. I know what you mean about the dresser being so low! I will be adding the legs to it when it returns to my home one day you can be assured. Thank you so much for letting me see your transformation and the future potential! Please tell me where you got the legs?????

    Reply
  13. Linda Salvio says

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    I loved both versions of that dresser. Your work is magnificent. I have newer furniture and I’m not liking the height of it simply because it takes over the room. When you have the average 8 foot ceiling and you place a 46 or 48 inch dresser in that room it diminishes the height of the room. I think the new taller dressers, night stands and armoires belong in rooms with higher or vaulted ceilings. I’m actually in the process of purchasing older furniture for its lower stature.

    Reply
    • jamie says

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      Thank you!

      Reply
  14. Jeannette says

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    love this, you did a awsome job, now im looking for a dresser to do that. please help and tell me what kind of paint and the sealer you used. Thanks. keep doing and posting your work.

    Reply
    • jamie says

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      The color is called Dove White and the paint is from Benjamin Moore. Here’s a post where I talk about what kind of paint I use and why: https://www.southernrevivals.com/2014/04/uncle-joes-dresser-answers-questions.html

      Reply
  15. Betsy says

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    Stunning!

    Reply
    • jamie says

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      Thank you!

      Reply
  16. Leslie says

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    Did you paint the top of the dresser? My mom and I are looking to do this project as I have this exact bedroom suit. My only concern is that the finish is slick and the tops seem like Formica. Did you sand it at all? Thanks!!

    Reply
    • jamie says

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      I did paint it and painting formica can be tricky. You have to make sure you have the proper primer and sanding is always a good insurance policy. You might not need to but it doesn’t hurt to be safe rather than sorry.

      Reply
  17. Marianne says

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    Where did you find the cup drawer pulls used on the dresser?

    Reply
    • jamie says

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      Cool Knobs and Pulls.com

      Reply
  18. Kara says

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    Jamie, I was so excited to see that you revived this
    dresser. I have the same dresser and a desk and book shelf to match. I will be reviving all of them some day! Thank You!!

    Reply
    • jamie says

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      You are quite welcome! The I revived the desk as well. It’s on my blog, too. It’s hot pink though. They look nothing alike anymore! 😉

      Reply
  19. Diana Cockerill says

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    What kind of sealer did you use and also, how did you attach the legs?

    Reply
    • jamie says

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      It has been SO long! I believe I used wax. I added a bottom piece to the bottom of the dresser and attached the legs to that using the brackets that these legs attach with.

      Reply
  20. Cheri says

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    I don’t suppose that you also have the armoire that matches this piece do you? I have the armoire, night stand and twin headboard, It was my childhood furniture so I am a bit emotionally attached to it. I’ve been wanting to repurpose them.

    Reply
    • jamie says

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      I did! In fact, I had two. Both madeover for clients. You can see them here: https://www.southernrevivals.com/2013/07/a-silver-mink-and-pop-of-coral-brfrench.html
      And here: https://www.southernrevivals.com/2013/12/french-provincial-desk-hutch-from.html

      Reply

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