A dramatic piece of Bridgerton style furniture

There’s nothing we like more at WoodUbend than a period drama. Not only do we love following the story, but it gives us a chance to ogle the marvelous furniture that the producers have used to recreate the scenes.
The popularity of Bridgerton continues to increase each time Netflix launches a new series, so it was with this in mind that Solly Jo recently decided to take an old chest of drawers and give it the Bridgerton treatment!
We found a lovely-looking miniature chest of drawers on Facebook marketplace, which we quickly bought for the princely sum of £20 ($25). It might have been a lot back in the 1820s, but hardly much today!
This chest sported lovely French-style curves and was a great starting point. But we wanted to bring it bang up to date with some exotic colors…this would be a job for Posh Chalk Aqua Patinas! We envisioned a stunning paint job using Solly Jo’s signature blended paint effect plus some WoodUbend trims and appliques to liven up the chest. Here’s how we did it!

Starting the Bridgerton Style project

The first thing to do was to take the miniature chest back to its base. We removed most of the original color using a sander to give us a bare starting point.

Once we had something of a blank canvas, it was time to start applying WoodUbend. We chose a centerpiece applique, WUB 1301 decorative plaque. We chose two, as we wanted to cover the height of the chest front with the applique. So, we mirrored the molding by inverting the top one and chopping off the very top of it to ensure a perfect fit.

It was amazing how placing this simple piece of WoodUbend quickly started the transformation process. We were now getting excited to see how the project would develop.

Now, obviously, we wanted to ensure that the drawers could still open once our work was finished. One of the great things about WoodUbend is its versatility. When warm, you can chop, slice, bend, and stretch to your heart’s content! So, with a bit of heat from a hair dryer, we warmed up the appliques. Then, taking a crafter’s scalpel, we cut through the applique to fit the drawers.

The flexibility of WoodUbend means that you can get an exact cut, so only a small bit of sanding was needed to have the applique line up perfectly with the drawers.

However, we didn’t stop there with the WoodUbend as we wanted to ensure that the rest of the miniature chest of drawers would also be suitably embellished. So we took one of our favorite WoodUbend trims – TR721 – and heated it using our trusty heat gun. When warm, WoodUbend becomes entirely flexible in your hands, meaning you can apply it to your project of choice in a single, unbroken strip. We applied wood glue to the back of the trim, then, while still warm, carefully wrapped it around the base of the cabinet and waited until it had cooled and adhered.

Adding some color

Our miniature chest of drawers was still looking very plain and a bit, well, sad, really. It was time to add some color!
We thought carefully about which colors to use. We could keep it low-key and use a selection of muted tones. But, this being Solly Jo, we decided to go all-out for pizzazz!
With this in mind, we selected two complementary colors from La Magic paint: Serendipity and Cherry. Using a Posh Chalk Paintbrush, we carefully blended the two colors to a ravishing effect.
Solly’s blended technique was being tested here to ensure that we were giving our miniature chest of drawers some real pep, depth, and resonance too!

The impact of Aqua Patinas

Posh Chalk is a range of artisan-quality coatings. Amongst the range are Aqua Patinas and Pigments. The beauty of using these products is that it gives you free rein to create the colors, tones, and depths of your choice.
To add color, we selected three aqua patinas from the range: Red Medium Cadmium, Violet, and Primary Green. By mixing these, we produced an intense color to add to our drawers.
The beauty of Posh Chalk Aqua Patinas is that, because they are water-based, they have unique blending properties. Perfect for our furniture upcycling project.

Stenciling the sides and adding pigments

We were still of the opinion that the sides needed some attention. While the deep plum color was great, it needed something else. So, we selected a Posh Chalk stencil – ‘Mystery Thorns’ – one of our best sellers. By applying the stencil to the side and taping it in place, we were free to add another color.
We mixed two Posh Chalk pigments – Silver and Copper – with our high-quality Posh Chalk Infuser to get a lustrous champagne color. Very high-end!
With a stippling technique, we applied the mixture to the gaps in the Mystery Thorns stencil. A stippling technique helped get a clean image through the stencil by covering all the nooks and crannies. Then, by carefully removing the stencil, we unveiled the newly-adorned sides which seem to glow against the plummy background.
All Posh Chalk stencils are manufactured from high-grade materials so that they can be washed simply under a warm tap and used again time after time.
Neat, eh?

Brand Ambassador – Bianca from Lotus Theory Designs

At WoodUbend-West USA, we have fantastic brand ambassadors. Watch this quick video of Bianca from Lotus Theory Designs transforming an old beat-up chest into a stunning piece of art.

Supplies used for the Bridgerton Drawers

The cabinet hasn’t quite been finished yet, so we will post once more with the completed project.

Here is a list of all the products we used during the Bridgerton miniature chest project:

WoodUbend Trim TR721 https://woodubend.com/product/pack-of-two-trims-tr721-210×1-3cm-2/

WUB 1301 decorative plaque https://woodubend.com/product/pack-of-two-decorative-plaques-wub1301-21-5×24-5cm/

Posh Chalk Aqua patinas

Red Medium Cadmium https://woodubend.com/product/posh-chalk-aqua-patina-red-medium-cadmium-30ml/

Violet https://woodubend.com/product/posh-chalk-aqua-patina-violet-30ml/

Primary Green https://woodubend.com/product/posh-chalk-aqua-patina-primary-green-30ml/

Posh Chalk Pigments

Silver https://woodubend.com/product/posh-chalk-pigments-silver/

Copper https://woodubend.com/product/posh-chalk-pigments-copper/

Red carmine https://woodubend.com/product/posh-chalk-pigments-red-carmine-30ml/

Posh Chalk Mystery thorns stencil https://woodubend.com/product/posh-chalk-stencil-mystery-thorns/

Posh Chalk Deluxe Infusor https://woodubend.com/product/posh-chalk-pigments-deluxe-infusor/

LaMagic Paint:

Serendipity and Cheri https://elisirhome.com/en/where-can-i-buy-magic-paint-no-amazon/