Upcycling furniture: bedside table

I found the bedside table Memories of Grandma in the Deep Cove area, North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was in pretty bad shape, because the owner’s wife had tried to strip it and given up when she hit the coat of rock solid white alkyd paint under two layers of black and blue latex. The “white phase” of the piece had been enhanced with golden lines around the door and the bottom brace.
I was able to dig through the alkyd layer and found oak veneer that had been scorched with a torch to darken the surface in an irregular pattern. While preparing the bedside table for painting, I remembered that my grandmother’s bedroom and living room furniture had had the same dark look to it. That’s why I gave the piece this name.
The knobs were handmade by local blacksmith Colin Southwell of Maple Ridge, British Columbia, to match my design.