Mid Century-Danish Modern Dresser

The search is over! I finally found the piece I wanted for my room. You can read about searching for the right piece here. I knew I wanted a mid century/danish modern piece and I had come across a few that I liked, but the price was never right. When I found this piece, I knew I wanted it. I first emailed about it over a month ago, but the seller was not flexible on the price… at all. In the condition that is was in I did not want to spend the $250 it was listed for. (Note: normally I don’t share prices, but since I am keeping this one you get to know all the details) They said if it did not sell in a few weeks they would lower the price. This is understandable since they said there was other interest in the piece and at that point I was not emotionally invested so it was easy to let it go 😉

Two weeks later it was still at the same price, so I emailed again, but the seller still did not want to lower the price at all. It was definitely disappointing since they had said they would lower it, but I knew this was the piece I wanted and had to get my hands on it. I email back saying I wanted to go look at it anyway, but they never responded. A week later I emailed again, but still no response. The listing then expired and I thought it was over… but it was posted again a couple days later! I email once again and like before there was no response. I guess I annoyed them by trying to negotiate a lower price.

Let me just say. Desperate times call for desperate measures. I had to use a different email to get them to respond. Instead of my name I used my moms, left her cell number and told them we could look at it Sunday. After 3 days of waiting they texted late on Saturday to say they were available Sunday morning for us to go look at it. We got the address and went after church. I made sure my mom pretended that she wanted it and told her not to mention my name (we obviously have great acting skills since we made the deal happen). After talking about the scratches, scuffs and some sharpie that was on the drawer (was not expecting that), we offered $150, and she said she was firm. We offered a slightly higher at $180, she went down to $225 and I got it rounded off at $220. Let me say this is way more than I ever spend on things. The only other things I have spent more on are my car, computer and college tuition. Since I knew I would be keeping it, I went for it, and most mid century or danish pieces are more expensive. I also found the big brother to the piece I got on ebay… and it is selling for over $900. The only difference is it’s a little longer and the ends are doors with drawers behind them (the one I got is just drawers on each end). Either way, I feel better about what I spend on mine.

It was less than the $250 I planned on paying, but still slightly higher than I originally intended to spend on a piece. Totally worth it though. And after picking it up my mom and I spent the day in Seattle going to furniture shops and an estate sale. Quality day. I bought some old skeleton keys which I have a project and gift in mind for. I plan on framing some of them and doing a gallery/frame wall above the dresser. I also got a yellow art print (also for the future gallery wall).

As I mentioned before the piece needs to be refinished.  The side drawers are a slightly different color than the rest of the piece, so hopefully stain will change that. In person it is not very noticeable, but in pictures it really shows up. It also had scratches on the tops, front and sides and a couple rings marks. The good thing is this dresser is solidly made. It has front and back dovetailed joints on the drawers, the drawers slide without sticking and it is heavy. I love how the piece is curved (you can see it in the picture below). There is no maker’s mark, but inside the top middle drawer there is sticker residue like there used to be something there. If anyone knows anything about the specific style or maker, let me know!

I plan on staining it this summer when I am not as busy and the weather is nice. I also have other projects I want to finish first, so my own piece gets put on hold. I had my brother help me move it up into my room.

*Update – for now this piece is staying in its original condition until I fully decide to commit to stripping and staining it again. For now, its little flaws are perfect for me.

 

 

 

 

 

Have you ever become attached to something before you even own it? This happens to me way too often!