Shiny, Pretty Things

Who doesn't love the glam factor of mirrored furniture? Just one piece can add a sophisticated elegance to any room. The downfall is that it can be quite pricey...even at big box stores. It's also not very practical for people who tend to move a lot like we do in the military.

So, another alternative to mirrored furniture is silver leafed furniture, also known as gilded furniture.

I decided to try this technique when we were in need of an entertainment console for the living room. I didn't want to spend a ton of money and I wasn't thrilled with the selection of consoles at our local furniture stores. So, who do I turn to for help? Craig and his list of course! That's when I found this little one for $60 in need of some TLC.

I chose to gild with aluminum because it was cheaper and shinier than silver leaf. A box of 500 sheets cost around $50 but is more than enough to do about 2 large dressers.

I removed the hardware, sanded the dresser, and applied the size (glue) using a small paint brush. Then it was time to burnish (apply) the aluminum leaf sheets to the dresser.

It was a very tedious, time consuming project but well worth the effort. Of course I had to choose a very large piece of furniture for my first gilding project. It took about 20 hours over a 5 day period to finish the gilding. I then applied 2 coats of polyurethane to protect the finish and replaced the hardware to give it a more contemporary, streamlined look.

And here is the finished product: