Entry Way Dresser Table

Our little entry way has been empty since we moved in 18 months ago (I can't believe it's already been a year and a half!).  I've been keeping an eye out for the perfect piece to put there.

I ended up going the Craigslist route and got a beautiful mid-century modern dresser!  This was an unusual purchase for us because the piece didn't need any work.  Usually, we'll buy/inherit/pick up on the side of the road... a piece of furniture that need a little love and a lot of sanding.  It's definitely a lot more work to build a home this way, but it's also significantly cheaper than buying something new.  I feel like it is also a lot more rewarding to put in the sweat equity and create something that's uniquely you.

But mid-century modern is so popular right now that all of the pieces are hard to find.  You have to scour estate sales and fight off "pickers" to find something worth investing in.  So I found a lady on Craigslist who buys mid-century pieces from a picker and revives them to their former glory.  She works out of her house, (a beautiful home in West Wash Park area, built in 1892, ahhh), and sells the pieces on Craigslist.  It ended up being $180; not a steal, but what I felt like was a pretty fair price considering it was display ready.

I bought it in the afternoon and Grant took the trailer that night to pick it up for me. (Thanks babe!)  Luckily he liked it too as Grant tends to be a lot pickier than I am.

It has beautiful lines and looks awesome in the space. It's a nice low profile next to our giant canvas.  It also adds some nice warm wood tones into a room that's mostly cool with cream, grays and blues.

I'm still working on styling the top of the dresser.  I've really never had a piece of furniture that was purely decorative... yeah.  Never a coffee table, never a side table; so styling something like this does not come naturally yet.  But I have a few pieces that I like so far.  The frame was a $10 garage sale purchase.  We're planning to fill it with the builder grade mirror that's currently in the powder room once we find a cooler mirror to put in there.

The frame is a really pretty gold/pewter with a neutral cream fabric inlay.

I also have this elephant that I picked up at a garage sale last week for $2.  I originally wanted to spray paint one of Will's big dinosaurs and use it on the dresser, but this elephant just seems right instead.  And Will loves him too.

And then I have this brass bowl that's half spray painted white... I think it started raining last summer when I was working on it so I never finished.  Nice...  Any ideas on what to fill it with? Well, after it's finished being painted...

What do you think of the dresser?  Any assistance for the clueless in terms of styling?!