Simple Dresser Makeover

I can’t believe I started this blog a year ago. It was such a great decision! I love having so much proof of my hard work because it’s so easy to write things off and forget. If you’d like to see what I’ve been up to the past year, you can find a photo link to each project on my project gallery page.  I’ve got a new project to help kick off the year.  Its a five drawer dresser I found on Craigslist for $25. It was clearly well built and just needed a little makeup and maybe some microdermabrasion and possibly new jewelry.

Now I actually had no specific use for this, but for $25 dolla dolla bills ya’ll AND those dovetailed joints, it’s hard to say no. It’s definitely a piece that can blend well in any decor and I’m digging the simple clean lines.

I knew I didn’t want another fully painted piece and the wood was in really good shape once it got a good sanding, but it took me a couple weeks to decide what to do with it. My problem isn’t being afraid to take a chance, its NARROWING down all of the options. Another gradient? Paint a pattern? Wall paper the front? Stripe it? This may sound so kooky but I find it I just let it settle for a few days if I’m unsure, then the piece usually speaks to me. Not literally, just like it becomes more clear to me what it wants. In this case, it wanted I white body and rich stained drawers.

I primed the body with Kilz primer spray paint, sent from heaven, and stained the drawer fronts using Minwax stain & polyurethane in one step in a color called Bombay Mahogany. Then I snuck a drawer back in stood back and decided that was the one!

I slapped a couple coats of white paint and some polycrylic to polish it off. Time to drill holes for the knobs. I created  paper template and measured out where I wanted the holes to go.

Here are the new knobs I picked out. It was love at first sight, but only took me a couple of months to find “the ONE” or ten in this case. i found them at Hobby Lobby, where else? They have TONS of knobs, but rarely do they enough all at one store. So I usually end up making another trip to a different store. Twenty dollars for the knobs is almost as much as I paid for the dresser! It’s still pretty cheap altogether.

I couldn’t be happier with the way it turned out. I’ve been kind of having a love affair with wood lately and this is the best of both worlds. I’ve been seeing a lot of pieces refinished similar to this and served as the perfect inspiration! I have so many other projects that haven’t quite seen the light of day but luckily I got quite a few Christmas goodies that make everything easier and I’ll be sharing soon!