How To Restore A Campaign Dresser

Campaign style furniture is trending again, but regardless of the trend, this vintage furniture is a classic that is here to stay!

Historically, this wartime campaign furniture was made to be easy to disassemble and carry from battle ground headquarters locations for the officers. It often came with handles on the side making it easy to carry.

Now modern campaign furniture is popular by it’s uniquely styled brass drawer pulls and corner brackets, but also the beautiful wood grain. These days we find it in a variety of colors and finishes!

I was lucky to score this campaign dresser set on Facebook Marketplace for free. I know, what an incredible find! The original owner was moving and not interest in keeping it since she preferred a more modern furniture style.

The hutch and mirror were a bit scratched in spots, but otherwise in good shape. The drawer dresser was worse off with chipped fronts.

If you are lucky enough to get your hands on one, it is fairly easy to restore!

Here are a few tips to help restore a campaign dresser to it’s former glory.

Fill Scratches In The Wood & Buff Out Marks

Use a wood furniture repair kit like this one to fill any gouges or scratches. It may be as easy as rubbing in a wood fill crayon stick. Personally, I don’t sweat small imperfections.

For light scratches or scuffs on the wood, use a solution of 1:1 white vinegar and cooking oil.

For water stains, clean the area well and apply mineral oil. More serious water stains may need some light sanding with a 220 grit sandpaper, then clean it and apply the oil.

Add New Legs For A New Look

Adding new legs to furniture can give it a whole new look without completely revamping the piece.

Prettypegs is this amazing Swedish company with an incredible assortment of furniture legs where I found the perfect set. I found just the set of legs to bring style and a better height to this campaign dresser. Say hello to Estelle 120 in teak!

Stain the furniture legs to match the rest of the piece.

Attach the legs using a universal fitting plate screwed into the bottom of your dresser. Then the legs easily screw in.

How To Fix Chipped Veneer & Edge Tape

Replacing veneer tape is very easy, presuming you can find replacement veneer in the same general pattern, texture, and color. If you can find the wood pattern, but not the color, you can get unfinished edge banding and stain it.

Most banding has an adhesive on the back, and can be ironed on to adhere.

If you can’t source proper replacement banding, you can sand and stain the dresser edge itself.

Start by removing the old edge banding tape by gently chipping it away with a chisel and gently sanding it.

I used a mixture of red oak and mahogany stains to color in any gouges, and stain along the bare edge. Be sure to test the stain on an underside or hidden location on the dresser to see if it is a good match.

While staining it doesn’t quite have the same grain as the veneer banding, this is the result on the chest of drawers.

Polish the Brass Fittings

The brass hardware is what makes a campaign style dresser as stylish as it is, but over time it can lose it’s luster.

Time to get to work on making the brass fittings on this dresser shine! I discovered I could not remove my fittings without pulling off the wood, so I would have to polish them while still attached. If you can carefully remove the brass pulls and fittings.

You can use a metal polish, like Brasso, but I find it doesn’t quite do the trick. Bar Keepers Friend soft scrub did a great job bringing out that brass colored sparkle, but I could see that it is very harsh on the fittings and should be use gently (a little goes a long way). Whereas you can see below that the actual brass cleaner on the right still left that dull greenish hue on my pulls and fittings (even after 3 separate cleanings!).

If you still haven’t been able to restore the lovely brass look you could live with the slight patina (which can be charming). Or you can use a bit of rub-n-buff in the gold color of choice for a pure brass finish.

Finish With A Good Furniture Polish

After cleaning up all the pulls and fittings using the Bar Keepers Friend soft cleanser, I cleaned up any residue that got on the wood with soap water and dried it immediately. Finally I polished the whole dresser using Old English polish for dark woods. This healed any residual scratches, or areas where the wood was starting to look dull.

An oil polish actually helps protect wood against future scratches. While it isn’t fool proof, it helps a fairly significant amount, which is why it is advised to maintain it and polish furniture at least every couple months.

I love having a beautiful all-wood stunner on my hands, as is most classic campaign style furniture. Admittedly I have also painted wooden furniture as a quick refresh for cheap pieces, but when you find a piece of antique furniture that is solid wood, just give it a little TLC to restore it to it’s former glory.

Reconfiguring Furniture: A Hutch Turned Dresser

When furniture doesn’t quite work for your practical needs, consider modifying it!

We needed a dresser more than a hutch, so I deconstructed the top and cut off the hutch portion.

The top of the hutch then replaced the top of the dresser drawers, and now my husband has the perfect end table for his bedside!

For Extra Credit, Update The Inside Drawers!

I love the spacious drawers which provide lots of storage, and the quality joinery and wood. But the inside of the drawers are unfinished, so if you want it to look amazing inside and out consider a few of these suggestions:

• Stain the drawer sides: so when you open the drawer it looks finished
• Paint the inside of the drawer
• Add wallpaper or shelf paper to the inside of the drawers

See the rest of this dining room makeover where a mismatched dining room set got an incredible makeover, and a little blue armchair got a sophisticated makeover by painting the upholstery (can you believe it!??!).

Thank you to Prettypegs for graciously gifting me these stunning legs! Follow Prettypegs on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for inspiration and to see their latest and greatest.