Dark walnut and mahogany bring the piece back to life
With the structure sound, Taylor turned to the finish. He painted the main body of the dressing table in a rich dark walnut color, while the drawers received a warm mahogany finish. The two tones worked together to emphasize the table’s original Art Deco character rather than erase it.
The completed piece bore almost no resemblance to the neglected furniture he had carried home from the flea market. The combination of careful surface preparation and a considered color palette produced a result that looked both elegant and purposeful — a fully functional piece of furniture with a renewed identity.
Taylor’s finished dressing table — painted in dark walnut and mahogany, with rebuilt joints and recreated details — stands as a direct record of what the restoration involved: more than 24 hours of chemical stripping, extensive sanding, and hand-crafted replacement parts, all applied to a piece that had been left for free at a flea market.
