I picked up this wardrobe a while back at an auction in Southeast London.
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| Dragon Hinge Wardrobe - Before |
I had taken a cursory glance at it, but figured it would be expensive - and I am cheap. (Or in the charming words of a friend - 'tighter than the skin on a sausage'.)
But I also can't resist a bargain. When the bidding stalled at £100, I lost all self-control and picked it up. That being said, I hadn't really considered how I was going to get it home (or up the stairwell).
According to the auction house, it is from the 1700s and weighs about the same.
After hauling it upstairs, my dad informed me that if I moved, it was either staying or someone else was moving it. If they bury me in it, I will need 16 pallbearers.
It is a bit battered, but I like my pieces to have some character.
The inside is all shelves (I assume as suggested by Lady Catherine de Bourgh herself.)
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| Dragon Hinge Wardrobe - Interior - Before |
The side panels are coffered.
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| Dragon Hinge Wardrobe - Interior - Before |
I love the panel features on the front... not sure what they are supposed to be, but they are obviously hand-carved. There are a few cracks and damage, but nothing catastrophic.
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| Maybe fabric panel motif? Not a clue. |
Love these! You never know when Danerys Targaryen might drop in.
So the plan is to first give it a good scrub with sugar soap and then paint it with milk paint.
Still debating colour choices -- thinking maybe a deep blue green.
Before anyone reacts in horror, there is quite a bit of damage that would keep this out of Antique Road Show contention.
There is surface wear and some weird holes that are either thanks to bugs or an unruly child armed with darts.
So now the fun begins!
Hopefully my next post won't be about how hard it was dragging this thing down the stairs for the garbage truck!
:)
Andrea
Update: My friend Harry has informed me that those dart-holes are in fact caused by woodworms. Boo! So the makeover is on temporary hold as I spray carcinogens all over the damn thing so it doesn't disintegrate.
Aaaand, it isn't a wardrobe, it is a linen press (shelves as opposed to a rail...)
We don't have all these posh-twizzlers back in Canada, so you will have to excuse my ignorance. (I have set my PVR to mass download Downton Abbey so future crises may be averted.)
