Shining Through

This enchanted dresser has come a long way since it was tossed into an alley on trash day. When Angelique Bamberg rescued it over a year ago, “it was in pretty rough condition,” covered in dings and an ugly layer of alligatored varnish. Bamberg’s first idea was to simply cover the dresser in a coat of paint. But once she removed the varnish, she was surprised at the beauty she found underneath. “The problem was that the veneer was too dinged up to be refinished, but too pretty to cover up.”

Trained as a historic preservationist, this Pittsburg, Penn. resident came up with a brilliant solution: cover most of the dresser in paint while masking off a tree shape in the front to allow some of the lovely wood to shine through.

Though Bamberg had stenciled before (including a pattern of skeleton keys on the walls of her 100-year-old fixer-upper), using painter’s tape to mask the tree was problematic: “When I peeled it off after painting, I found that the primer had seeped under the edges, blurring the entire design.” It took many hours with a razor blade to restore a crisp outline.

The dresser now brightens up her 3-year-old daughter’s room. “I like the idea of her having things that are unique and handmade just for her,” says Bamberg. “I also like to think that seeing me work on pieces like this will give her an appreciation for the creative potential of things that others might just throw away.” —Carla Sinclair