Dresser Makeover

My dad's old dresser had two large gouges that couldn't be repaired. So, I figured if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. I added more scratches and it turned out rather tribal. Here is how it looks when you buy the dresser from a discount furniture retailer:

Mine had a ton of scratches even before I started messing with it:

After repairing a broken foot and drawer rail, I removed all drawers and took off the pulls. Then, using a soldering iron I scored lots of lines on each facet of the drawer. I had to work slowly to burn through the "cherry" veneer. Then, I cut pieces of 2" x 24" x 3/4" poplar for handles. I used a utility knife to whittle off all the straight edges of the poplar pieces to give them a rough hewn sort of look. Then I stained and polished the whole thing, handles included, with Briwax, the world's most awesome wood product. Attach handles, and presto!