Saving 'Brown' Furniture For Future Generations. (A Nation Rejoices.)

Back in July Linda dragged me to Ford Car Boot sale to look for a chest of drawers with a bigger capacity than the one she'd already stuffed full.
On the whole the mission was a success and the new piece of furniture settled into the flat with very little fuss.
But what of the chest of drawers it was bought to replace?

"Brown" furniture is not popular nowadays and consequently can be picked up very cheaply.
If you're able to find anyone willing to attempt selling it.
Even charity shops seem reluctant to take brown-furniture.
This is a shame because, in general, this type of furniture was made when things were built to last a life-time and most of the examples I've seen seem to have lasted several life-times.

But having things that last a life-time is no way to run a modern economy, oh no.

I inspected the old chest of drawers.
The build quality is very good for what would have been essentially a 'utility' piece when it was new.
The drawers are all dovetail jointed and solid as a rocks.
It has oyster-shell drawer pulls.
The surfaces have suffered some cosmetic damage but not enough to warrant throwing it away.

I have decided to 'renovate' the poor thing.

Having given it an all-over sanding and wipe down with White Spirit, I started applying a coat of white emulsion:

It will probably take about three coats before it develops a base good enough for a colour coat.

I, more or less, finished the drawers but I'm unhappy about the insipid pastely-minty-greeny colour I used (I used it because it was in a tin I found in the attic):

I want to do something really outlandish with it and am tempted to have a go at painting it silver with mauve draws and finding, or making, some more appropriate handles for it.

Who knows, when I've finished it I may even put my clothes in it.