Yeah, I think I need to go down to bare wood for this

If you are using aniline dye, I am sure you need bare wood. Was the above image something you tried? You can mix the dyes to make a custom color.

No the above image would be a nightmare result for me. Just found the pic online

This thing is definitely veneer over solid wood. I have sanded one piece of veneer before and accidentally sanded right through it. I didn't know it was veneer when I started or I likely would have sanded differently. That piece ended up getting painted instead of stained (and then sold 6 months later because it was my first refinishing job and it was terrible and covered in orange peel) ;). Even knowing that it is veneer it is still intimidating. Wonder if I can strip it before the dye process instead. I've never used chemical strippers before.

An evening of fun! (I need a social life, clearly)

ooh but how nice to get a job like that done! Consider yourself fortunate to be so disciplined to attend to the details... :)

btw do we know how many thousands are online right now doing and saying such things.........

That was hard work. I think I have a bicep now.

Veneer is tricky...there is the old veneer that is thick like on the waterfall furniture and the newer veneer that is almost paper thin. Unless you find a place on the piece to see the base you won't know. Sometimes there is a clue on the back or underneath.

I suggest only a light sanding using a lil mouse sander.
Grab some mesh sanding sheets for it they will love you long time.
For laminate you only need to scuff it a bit to take paint..it will not take dye.

(Yes I'm up because I am too hot to sleep, even with the air on, my husband must radiate 1000 degrees)

Nice job on the brass...did you try the yogurt?.. Get a can of clear poly spray and lightly spray them (outdoors) before putting them back on.

Thanks Lucidos! I did spread lots of yogurt on all the pieces (I had a large container of Chobani that was near expiry so this was perfect) and then used Bar Keeper's Friend on the pulls. That did the trick. The T and L brackets were more tricky for whatever reason and didn't work with the yogurt and Bar Keeper's Friend. In the end I was sick of scrubbing and ended up putting them in boiling 50:50 white vinegar and water. That worked. There are still some parts that I might go over again tomorrow. Thanks for the tip on the poly. I'm definitely going to do that. Anything to help these stay pretty.

Let the yogurt sit for a few hours.

There is a piece on one corner of the bottom of the nightstand that is chipped so I can see the veneer. I will measure it tomorrow. I have no idea how to tell if it is laminate though! I'll do some research online.

I have a sander. It's a small one. I've never used the mesh sanding sheets. I have a bunch of 80, 120, and 280 grit from a previous project.

Yeah, I probably didn't leave the yogurt on long enough for the acid to do its magic.

Hilary, to grow biceps, you should be eating the yogurt!

The striped fabrics being suggested seem perfect.

A large, oversized bowl would add drama to the table top. I'd go with white, blue and white or a Regency inspired look: a combination of white, orange, navy and gold.

The brown wall has to go ! The rug has to go !
You need a light colored , much larger rug , beige maybe , then you need to yellow and white silk stripes on the chairs ..for elegance ..and a beautiful center piece on the table ...everything in this room is brown on brown with touches of brown ....depressing ! You need yellow flowers ...less furniture ...and a chandelier ...then , let's look at it again .good luck !

who doesn't love quality in those details which you and yogurt and vinegar accomplished - wow..... adding that I love it when those 'in the know' share how-to.

Don't ya just love commenters who don't read the above comments and where the thread has gone?

I agree - but I did that too recently - maybe it can jog the process, and show newcomers an update. Have to admit sometimes there's a LOT of changes to read.... makes the OP summarize!! ?

I so wish it would let me update the original post for that exact reason. I wish I could just add little updates with the date like "working on finding a rug now, ordered blue velvet for the chairs" or something like that

I would use the 280 grit first. You don't need much if you are going to paint.

I realize it probably seems like I am all over the place with the projects... and I am a little bit... but I'm wanting to at least get the chairs done in the dining room. Going to order this velvet:

I think I only need 2 yards... but I'm not sure how much extra I should be accounting for. Each chair cushion is 16" x 19" and there are 6 chairs.

If I order 2 yards of fabric (width is 54"), the piece will be 54" by 72". I feel like that will be just enough for me to do 2 rows of 3. I'm estimating I'll actually need 20" x 23" for each cushion after I beef them up a bit. Is that enough? I am cutting it pretty close.

Go get some muslin or duck or something inexpensive - do a test on a chair and use it as a pattern. I wouldn't cut so close and corners can be tricky I would say 2 1/3 to be safe. Then practice with the muslin.

Take off the current cover on the chair and use that as a template.

I can't order fractions of a yard online. I just emailed them and asked if they would do a special order for me as the fabric is expensive (to me anyway).

I will check the size of the current cover - thanks for the tip! I am going to be beefing them up with bigger cushions but I hope just allotting a couple extra inches for length and width would take care of that.

Going to youtube some videos for this in the meantime. Thanks y'all!

How much is the fabric? Looks like you are buying retail? You may want to go to a good upholstery shop in your town to see if they have any remnants. Make sure you buy enough to allow for corners and extra padding. Buy the foam first, then measure a template using added padding. It will be bigger than the one now.

Hillary, as to posting, great idea. Maybe type in caps UPDATE -

Hi Sandy, I am buying retail on the Fabricco.com (https://www.thefabricco.com/jb-martin-como-velvet-170-cyan-fabric/). The fabric is $31/yard. Really not much at all for upholstery velvet but I am cheap. ;)

I will look for foam. I need to watch some videos. Totally unfamiliar as to what I'm looking for. Is it batting that I cut to shape? I am only somewhat familiar from binge watching Flea Market Flip.

Hi Everdebz, no, I wish I could do that. It won't let me update my original post or any older posts. Would be such a great feature.

Flea Market flip is not a good place to start. They do a messy job. You are going to want the kind of batting they use for quilts. 2-3 inches is cutting it close.

There are other options.

Here is one: https://www.fabric.com/buy/0394765/p-kaufmann-obsession-velvet-aegean

https://www.fabric.com/buy/0416167/kaufman-lush-velveteen-celestial?cm_vc=756b1813-cbc1-43b3-84bd-29889bf8fb7b

I will look more later.

personally, I wanted purple

here is an interesting one

https://www.fabric.com/buy/0395633/fabricut-03347-lavender

LOL - I love your purple comment! Are you a purple person? I used to hate hate hate purple but now I love it. My SO would not be into the purple, unfortunately even though I know it would look awesome.

You have to call it "eggplant" to men.... (I think that's what your wall is, too, as I was perusing my local Craigslist and I saw a rug that looked the same...made me think of your wall).

I'm thinking of doing blue on my dr chairs too...I'm a slow mover though :(

Hilary, I was saying you could draw attention to new post with UPDATE at the beginning [as you said also, add the date]. You and others refer back to the date [on already but..]

Now I get it. I'll try that out! Thank you

I am a blue/purple person. Not so much the red purple. Yes, call it amethyst for another try instead of eggplant.

Kjbjw, you should start a thread! It's quite motivating. Would love to see your chairs!

What would you guys think of me leaving most of the dresser as is, but just stripping and dyeing the drawer fronts dark green? Do you think it would have the feel of this piece at all? I love this piece. I could add legs to it too.

Should I pose dresser/console questions in a new dilemma?

Sounds like a good idea to me only because I don't know much about this type of project. Lucidos might be the only one who can help with this one. : ) You are very knowledgeable and/or a fast learner. Beautiful dresser, though!

Okay, I'll post a new dilemma. Thank you. Just want to mention that I determined the entire dresser is veneer and not laminate! I was nervous that it was laminate and I would not be able to do this dye thing. Turns out, all you need to do to figure this out is touch the piece - can you feel wood grain, y/n? So simple.

Post a link here to the new dilemma.

Here is the new one: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/how-to-refresh-this-campaign-dresser-into-a-tv-console-dsvw-vd~4064410

Cheers

I'll go over there, but just responding about only the fronts: idk that it'd look so sleek.

Yeah, that's why I need opinions! I'm not sure either!

I edited the bottom of my post. Hopefully more people will respond to the main question. I jabbered away and posted 75 pictures so I think my real question was hidden in there.

UPDATE 8/2:

I think my paper burning piece is done. I've been looking for foam board or something to separate the sheets and also looking for a way to frame it. The large shadowbox frames are so cumbersome looking and I don't think they fit the style. If I use the foam board, I think the whole piece will be stable enough that I can just create almost a canvas style frame for it out of some stained or painted wood pieces.

Also, while slightly out of my wits from pain pills that I was taking for my neck, I ended up on art.com where they were having a 50% off sale and I ordered this piece in 30" x 40":

I think it really goes with the jewel tone vibe and will also look nice with the blue velvet, which by the way is backordered until the end of the month.

https://www.jossandmain.com/Evelyn-Rug-MCRR3667-MCRR3667.html?ds=55306

That is a nice rug. I like the overdyed rug look and contemplated those for a while. I think I'm now set on the black and white geometric though at least for the dining room. It will allow to bring in any color to the space. And I keep seeing it in all these styles I like, whether in rug form or tile and it so pleasing to my eye.

Would this work:

http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/nuLOOM-Contemporary-Hand-tufted-Wool-Moroccan-Triangle-Beige-Rug-7-6-x-9-6/8282920/product.html?refccid=OFZSHYGNCCE2SZCE4V6R5MY5AI&searchidx=14

http://ak1.ostkcdn.com/images/products/6565599/Safavieh-Retro-Black-and-Light-Grey-Rug-8-x-10-6aee62d8-3f99-4320-80db-

Or this that is black and white with touch of whimsey

http://ak1.ostkcdn.com/images/products/2908165/P11077937.jpg

Hilary, I remember your photo of your paper work.... you art has a similar torn-paper look.... I like it. Vibrant, almost parrot tropical... :) haha in the eyes of this beholder.