Easy Dresser Makeover

When we first moved into our house we were given a lot of hand-me-down furniture. We didn't say no to anything because we didn't know exactly what we would need, and of course we didn't have money to go buy any new furniture.

This dresser came from my mother-in-law. She bought it used 35 or so years ago for $5 when they were living in Iowa going to dental school. It was passed down through her children over the years, and then it sat in their garage for a long time holding tools and a few odds and ends. It was pretty banged up, but I figured that a couple of fresh coats of paint would probably go a long way towards making it look good again.

Of course at one point over the years this dresser was my husband's, and he had written his name in one of the drawers.

To start off,  I did a coat of light sanding with my Mouse sander, and then I primed it. I also wanted to add some decorative detail and had some of the Allen and Roth paintable wallpaper on hand. I chose a part of the pattern that I liked and cut out individual pieces to fit around the drawer pulls. I applied them like the wallpaper directions advised, waited 24 hours for them to dry, and then the painting began. I used Sherwin Williams Alabaster white, and did two coats, applying it with a small furniture roller. I also spray painted the drawer pulls with Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint, because they were pretty scratched up as well.

I wanted to see if I liked the drawers better a little distressed, or as they were. Surprisingly, I liked them better not distressed, so I just left them how they were.

And here is the old brown dresser with some nice white paint and all put back together again. It turned out cute enough that I thought it would be a nice addition to my 2-year old's big girl room. It is far from perfect and there are still some dents and dings in it, but I am happy with it. It was free and I figured that in a toddler bedroom it would probably get many more dents and dings anyway, so not too bad for about 3 hours of work. 

Here is a side by side comparison. It really is amazing what some elbow grease and some paint can do.

-Mandi

Linking here to Domestically Speaking's Power of Paint party.