Looking at the quality of the timber in the drawer shows that it is not nicely grained timber, but fairly cheap timber that has been laquered and distressed to hide the low quality. There is no guarantee that the timber under the laquer matches - the legs may be a different type of timber to the top. Sanding back furniture is messy, time consumming work. You may be better off giving it a light sand and repainting.

Best of luck,

Dr Retro

of Dr Retro House Calls

Any timber can be sanded/stripped to bare timber.

I have stripped a pine washstand painted with red lead paint back ( Family piece )

Buy a cheap Random Orbital sander ( Bunnings ? ) and 40 grade discs and dust mask/s.

Sand back of legs, then if you like the appearance, sand top

The drawer joints will show the quality.

Hi Kylie,

It's not conclusive from the photos, but there are some hints there for me that it looks like an altered old Chinese unit. Going from a piece I specified, the wood in the drawer looks similar and there is an outline in the lacquer that could be a traditional join. The piece I specified the exterior wood was of much better quality than the inside of the drawer. The bare wood was treated to enhance and to bring out the grain plus to provide protection.

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However for your piece, if it is truly old, the wood will not be perfectly flat thus making it difficult to sand and fully expose the wood without compromising the integrity. For changing the finish I would suggest a product like Porters chalk emulsion, that requires very minimal preparation and is available in a range of dark colours you are looking for.

All the best, Louise, Decoro Custom Interiors - Sydney

Yes, baskets will look great and be functional for storage. Kylie, have you seen Japan Black finished furniture? I think it would look stunning against your timber floors, and be a standout piece.

An example.

Sorry it won’t upload. However, I just ran across a dilemna from someone who used black japan product on previously stainedpine cabinets, and it didn’t work well. So wine commented this particular lacquer works best on bare timber. I haven’t used it, so best to consult with experts at paint shop. An alternative might be to prep the surface properly and paint it black.

Sorry...’Someone‘ commented this particular....

You could try stripping it back to see what the timber looks like. Hard to tell from photo, but doesn’t appear to be a veneer. Refinishing would a time consuming process, but for the right piece and finish it would be well worth it.