DIY Dresser Do-Over

DIY-dresser-Do-over

Hello, lovely readers. I recently delved into the world of furniture refinishing. And let me tell you, I never thought refinishing dresser would be so fun!

I found this cute little faux apothecary chest/dresser at a thrift shop, and I got it for a bargain – $17, can you believe it?!

dresser-diy-before

However, it was a bit scuffed up. I had to figure out how to refinish a dresser so it would match my house!

DIY-dresser-project

So the first step in refinishing a dresser or in repainting any wood furniture really, is you’ve got to really sand it. Look at that sander! Once you’ve got your own sander, you know you’re in deep. Once you have your own refinishing tools, you’ve traveled down that crafting road from which you can never return. You have the power! But with great power comes great responsibility.

Okay, I might be exaggerating a little bit, but once you started buying power tools for your crafting, you’re going to want to buy every piece of furniture you can find and then repaint it.

dresser-diy

After removing all of the hardware I gave the dresser a thorough sanding with my awesome power sander. Then I painted it with a multi-surface spray paint. My favorite place to buy spray paint is Home Depot, but you can also find a wide variety of colors at Michael’s, Lowe’s, Wal-Mart, etc. Just make sure when you buy it you check and see what surfaces it will work on.

I believe this color is colonial red.

dresser-makeover

So far, so good. I had already done all of the above steps before. But now I wanted to refurbish the dresser. I thought it should look a little distressed to match the faux apothecary-ness of it.

I bought some Valspar antiquing glaze to distress the dresser. This is the part that’s a little trial and error. I started with the drawers and painted on a medium coat. I waited about 5 minutes and then wiped it off with a clean cloth. I didn’t quite achieve the level of antiquey-ness that I wanted. So I repainted the glaze on the drawer and this time let it set for 10 minutes. That ended up being perfect, so I glazed the rest of the dresser.

When you’re wiping the antiquing glaze off, remember to use a clean cloth. Paper towels won’t really do it, because there’s so much glaze that you’re wiping off. You want an absorbent cloth that’s clean and dry.

makeover-dresser

After the dresser was dry, I put all the dresser pulls back on. And voila!

dresser-diy-after

The before and after:

DIY-dresser




26 Comments on DIY Dresser Do-Over

  1. Love a red makeover especially with antiquing! Great score too from your thrift store. Your dresser caught my eye over at the Whimsy Wednesday party.

    Reply
  2. Suzan
    at (10 years ago)

    That turned out just fantastic!!! Love the glazing on it –
    I bought a sander and then promptly started using ASCP making it redundant lol –
    ( although I do sometimes have to use it if I’m not using chalk paint )
    17.00 – it wouldn’t happen here in Montreal – never –
    But I have to tell you – I’d pay a lot more for it – it’s just beautiful!
    XOX

    Reply
  3. Gentle Joy
    at (10 years ago)

    Your project turned out so nice. 🙂 Thank you for sharing this. Gentle Joy

    Reply
  4. Cindy Eikenberg
    at (10 years ago)

    What a great piece and your make-over looks wonderful! Visiting from shaken together. I love the color and am so happy I saw it! Have a wonderful weekend!

    Reply
  5. Nina
    at (10 years ago)

    Beautiful! I love to take vintage stuff and make it into something brand new and lovely. Thanks for sharing! Nina @ mamas*little*treasures

    Reply
  6. grace
    at (10 years ago)

    I love this painting technique. I have been looking at milkpaint for an upcoming project, but I think your technique might work.
    Thanks!
    I would love to link back to this for my future post!
    http://teachlovecraft.com

    Reply
    • Sarah
      at (10 years ago)

      Hi Grace, glad this helps! Thanks for linking back!

      Reply
  7. Kelley
    at (10 years ago)

    Nice redo! I love the red color.

    Reply
  8. Rhonda
    at (10 years ago)

    Love the red! That is quite a transformation!

    Reply
  9. Just a fantastic job and what an amazing deal at $17!! So glad you linked up at our Best Of The Weekend Party last Friday – featuring this tonight when the party goes live at 8PM EST. Have a great weekend! xo

    Reply
  10. Lisa Coomer Queen
    at (9 years ago)

    This turned out great! This is something I have been wanting to do. I am not crafty but I think I could do this! Thank you!

    Reply
  11. Jenn Erin
    at (9 years ago)

    Wow you did an amazing job. It LOOKS AMAZING.

    Reply
  12. Patricia Salyers
    at (9 years ago)

    You can buy wood filler putty and make 3d designs! I like making filigree and skulls with it to decorate!

    Reply
  13. Mary
    at (9 years ago)

    Love seeing how your end table came out. I had the exact same one, which I refinished a week ago. I cut the top scallops off of the table, so everything would be flat. Again – great job!

    Reply
  14. Nelly B
    at (9 years ago)

    The after color is so beautiful! You did such a good job!!

    Reply
  15. Heidi Salisbury
    at (9 years ago)

    Wow this looks amazing. Doing this type of thing to old furniture that would otherwise be tossed to a landfill is a passion of mine. I wish I could share a pic of the dresser I did last Summer. I love that paint color you used and it looks very very good. I stained mine and thanks for getting me excited to get back out there and find more deserted pieces on others curb lawns to bring back to life 🙂 Yes I go around my city and pick up others “trash” to redo and see it in all it’s fabulousness.

    Reply
  16. Helen Kempster
    at (9 years ago)

    How lovely!! you would never know that was a $17 piece of furniture!!

    Reply
  17. Lori Webb
    at (9 years ago)

    Love this DIY. I have tried many but they never seem to turn out.

    Reply
  18. Kelly O
    at (9 years ago)

    Wow, you did a great job! Love the color! Best $17 ever spent 🙂

    Reply
  19. Judith Martinez
    at (9 years ago)

    Wow!! I’ve never seen anything this fabulous at any of my local thrift shops!

    Reply
  20. debbie
    at (9 years ago)

    wow this looks fantastic after your magic touch Fantastic

    Reply

Leave a Reply