Dresser Re-finish!!

Now for the post I know you've all been waiting on the edge of your seats for: My dresser re-finish! While decorating Little Miss's room I realized that she didn't have nearly enough drawer space for all of her clothes. She had a nice big closet but who wants to hang onsies, leggings, jammies, etc. So I went to my vault of antiques (my garage) to see what I could find. I am a huge fan of antiques and my parents had plenty to give me! I found the perfect piece!! It's a dresser that I had in storage forever and it has a unique and very pretty shape to it, along with some nice details. So I decided that it would replace her current changing table and double as her dresser.

Here is the before and after and I will go through the details below:

She was pretty beat up so I knew that this would be an involved, but fun, project. I found a few great ideas on Pinterest and put them all together into my own creation!

I started off with a light sanding of the whole piece. I knew I didn't need to do a lot of sanding because I would be using an oil based primer. I used the Kilz brand:

I used a brush to apply the primer but if I did it again I would definitely use a small roller. The paint goes on much smoother. *Remember that oil based primers and paints don't wash out so just throw away your brush or roller when you're done.*

I had seen an idea on Pinterest, pinned from a blog called Dumped and Discovered. It dealt with the issue of chipped and peeling veneer and what to do if the wood underneath is unrepairable. My piece wasn't that bad but I thought the final product on her blog was so beautiful that I had to try it! She used paintable wallpaper! I thought that the wallpaper would really enhance the unique curved front of my dresser. I went online to Lowes.com and found exactly what I wanted. Martha Stewart paintable wallpaper in damask.

Some paintable wallpapers come with the paste already on them, and you just have to wet it, but this one did not. So I sent The Hubs to Home Depot to pick up some wallpaper paste. I measured each drawer, cut the wallpaper to size, and glued it down. It came out better than I imagined!

 

After the paste was dry I took a screw driver and poked it through the hardware holes. I decided to use the old hardware which had two holes per handle. You can always decide to change the hardware and drill new holes at this stage if needed. After laying down the paintable wallpaper I used one layer of primer over the top. 

I knew that I wanted a shabby chic look to this dresser (because I figured it would be more shabby than chic in the end ;-)) and I didn't want it stark white so I sent The Hubs out to find a shimmery off-white spray paint. I am a huge fan of spray paint but the next time I do a project this big I'll be using a paint sprayer!! Anyway, he found just what I was picturing! It's Rustoleum Metallic in Pearl Mist. It gave it just the shimmer I wanted! *A note about this color. It doesn't give a lot of coverage, it's more of a top coat.*

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I sprayed this all over the dresser and the drawers. I found that on the top and the sides of the dresser, the spray paint did not go on evenly. So instead of doing layer after layer of spray paint I figured that it would look really pretty if I put the paintable wallpaper on those parts of the dresser as well. For the top, since it's an unusual shape, I cut a rectangular piece of wallpaper (that would hang over the front edge) and then used a razor blade to cut it to size. I also used the razor blade on any parts that were hanging over on the drawers and sides of the dresser.

While looking on Pinterest I found another idea that would really add something to this project. The original pin has actually been blocked since then but I loved the idea. So I took the extra paint from painting Little Miss's room and painted the inside of her drawers! It just added that extra spark!

And since I like to everything backwards, I would recommend doing this step BEFORE the paintable wallpaper. Needless to say I had a couple of pink spots on the front that I had to paint over...oops! Hey...I'm learning as I go!

As I said before, I decided to keep the original handles. They were of course that old "vintage" looking brass. So I grabbed my sandpaper, gave them a good scuff, washed them, and sprayed them with a complimentary pink spray paint. I chose Rustoluem Ultra Cover Gloss in Berry Pink:

Before putting the handles on, and putting the dresser back together, I sealed every surface of the drawers with polyurethane. I knew that I wanted this dresser to last! *Just an FYI, this stuff has a very strong smell so I would apply it outside and let it air out for a while before putting it in it's designated spot.* I also put the polyurethane everywhere on the dresser that the drawers would touch/rub.

So there you have it! My very first furniture re-finishing project. This dresser has a little sister (a nightstand) that I will be tackling soon, and will be using as a place for her books and odds and ends.

It really adds something to her room and makes me smile every time I look at it. It's not perfect but it's something that I made and that makes it perfect to me. Her room isn't finished yet but that will be another post when it finally gets done!

I hope that I gave you lots and lots of ideas and would love to see any projects that you're working on! Enjoy!