Ivie’s New Thrifted Dresser

By Mandi 02/12/2013

psst! The Homies Finals are happening RIGHT NOW and I need your help to win! I would love your vote in the Best Home Project/ DIY Blog category (we are currently in second place but a few hundred votes behind first)  I will love your guts FOREVER if you will click over and vote, it takes just a few seconds! MUAH to everyone who has already voted!

Once upon a time (about a year ago) I started working on my daughter Ivie’s room. I was working like a crazy girl to get it finished and hit a brick wall when I needed a dresser and none were to be found (this is the ONE problem with thrifting, sometimes it teaches you patience when you dont want to learn it!) But a couple of months ago the clouds parted and I found this buffet for $60.00

I actually really love the top part of it but it wasnt practical for Ivie’s room so I took it off and it now resides in the hoard in my garage.

I moved the dresser into the spot where the desk originally was and I really love it.

Ivie's Thrifted Dresser

Thrifted Mid Century Dresser

There is just something so FREAKIN fantastic about the legs on a mid century piece.

I am having thoughts of doing something to the inside of the rectangular panels, what do you think? Also can you spy tomorrow’s tutorial in the picture?

Mid Century Thrifted Dresser

Here are the links to the other tutorials for this room:

So what would you do? Leave it? Change it? Steal it?

Love Your Guts

40 thoughts on “Ivie’s New Thrifted Dresser”

  1. I’d steal it in a hearbeat! It’s gorgeous. Don’t you sometimes wish they were a little beat up so it wasn’t so agonizing of a decision to do something to them? I think it will be a win/win either way. Have fun!

  2. I’m so envious of your find! Please, for the love of everything good and holy, do NOT do anything to the inside of those rectangular panels. That piece truly is perfect, as-is!

  3. I love it! Such a great find. I am always in awe of your thrifting finds. I swear whenever I go thrifting all I see in junk! Oh and you got my vote for the homies!

  4. I love the dresser. It’s beautiful! If you were to do anything inside the rectangles, I’d make it something non-permanent, maybe with some vinyl. Mid-century is currently so hot and thus valuable, that you’d hate to “ruin” it with paint.

    1. That’s a good idea. It would also allow you to easily change it if the room changes or you move it to another area of your house.

  5. I was wondering how you find such great thrift stores. I found a couple but they aren’t very big and the furniture is typically expensive for some reason [not sure if they are true thrift shops or just vintage stores]. Do you have any advice? I live in Michigan [30 mins from Detroit].

    Thanks

    Natalie @
    https://natalielmurphy.blogspot.com/

  6. That is beautiful! I don’t think I’d change it at all. However, if you’re thinking about the rectangle areas, maybe you can trace on the wood with paint/marker/gold leaf/something colorful to bring out the grain. It reminds me of zebra stripes and could tie in nicely with the floor with just a little hint of something.

  7. I have to agree with you – the legs on MCM furniture is so interesting compared to stuff these days. If you want to do something to the rectangles – do it! You have the best taste and it’s YOUR furniture…I’ll be here waiting to see if you take the plunge 🙂

  8. Love Love the dresser it makes me as “HAPPY” as a school girl on a sunny day!!! I would leave the panels but dip the legs to bring attention to their awesome “HAPPYness”!!! Did I mention it makes me “HAPPY”!!!

  9. Leave it alone, polish it up with some Howard’s Feed & Wax, then sell it if you can! It is from the Sculptra collection by Broyhill Premiere. That line was made from 1957 to the mid-60’s and is highly collectible. I recently found a small chest from that line for a ridiculously low price and sold it for $195. I could have gotten quite a bit more if it was in excellent shape. Your piece is bigger and was much more expensive when new than the piece I found. Also, probably more rare since it was higher priced to begin with. If it’s in good shape, make yourself some money and find another dresser for Ivie’s room.

  10. It’s a great piece without the top – the details in the panels & the drawers are more noticeable without any other distractions. I would consider using mica for the insets – it would lend a golden tone that would blend with the woodtones, while providing a reflective surface for a little ‘flash’.

  11. I don’t believe that the top of that piece goes with the bottom. The doors don’t match. It is gorgeous the way it is. Please don’t paint it.

  12. Hey Mandi! I love the dresser, but what I’m really interested in/obsessed with is the absolutely incredible plant that is sitting on top! I’ve been yearning for an architectural house plant of my very own for a while and I love love love that one. What kind is it? Is it easy to care for? I notice you have a lot of awesome house plants – it’d be great if you could do a post featuring all of them! Thanks!

  13. I know this post is old, but I have a matching piece to this buffet/dresser of yours (It’s the Broyhill Sculptra line) that I got for $30 from Craigslist. And after doing some research I am finding people selling these on online stores for $600-700 dollars!! I am actually refinishing the one I have as a custom order and feel like a schmuck for giving it to her for 300; at least she’s a repeat customer – that makes me feel better 😉 At any rate, always research before selling (if you should eventually sell this piece, that is). And I also agree to leave it as is…these pieces are too spectacular to paint or change other than to sand them down and refinish them if needed.

  14. Holy Guacamole! I have almost the same dresser. Mine doesn’t have the cool legs like yours but the rest is the same. Mine was pretty damaged so we ended up painting it. I was going to attach a pic but I can’t figure out how. Love your blog btw, and you keep me laughing!

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