Gustavian Antique Maple Dresser — Swedish Gustavian Restoration

Antique Maple Dresser — Swedish Gustavian Whitewash Restoration. Some pieces do not let you rush them — and this one made that very clear. This is a genuine late Victorian chest of drawers in solid figured maple, approximately 120 to 150 years old. The bones speak for themselves: hand-cut dovetail joints on every drawer, a scalloped apron, raised panel sides, original oval keyhole escutcheons, and cast iron castor wheels still rolling smoothly after over a century. The restoration was meticulous and built in deliberate layers. Every surface was cleaned inside and out, then sealed with beeswax to condition the grain before any finish was applied. A warm-toned gel stain was worked in as the base. A Swedish Gustavian-inspired green wash was then hand-applied across the entire piece — front, back, sides, and all drawer interiors — building an undertone the way generations of old European farmhouse paint accumulate naturally over time. Careful sanding followed, not to erase it, but to sculpt it. The green remains in the grain, in the corners, in the gradations — exactly where old paint lives. The final layer is a French linen whitewash, soft and chalky, with those Gustavian greens surfacing beneath like history showing through plaster. Structural repairs were made using matching elm. New solid brass knobs were selected with the same care given to every other step in this process. The result sits in that rare space between modern and antique — sophisticated, characterful, and genuinely timeless. Width: 42" / Height: 36" / Depth: 19". Wood: Solid figured elm. Hardware: Solid brass knobs, original cast iron casters. Age: Approximately 120–150 years old. Local pickup in Calgary Royal Oak NW. Price is firm. Cash.