Before and After: Refurbished Dresser

While I was living on the Upper East Side, I found this dresser in an antique thrift store and bought it for a steal of ONLY $75! The details of the wood and the style of the dresser is what appealed to me, and of course the compartments were useful for clothes, jewelry, etc.  I kept it for a good couple of years without having to make any changes to it, however when I moved to Brooklyn it looked out of place in our modern bedroom.  I refused to give it away, so instead I decided that I would paint it white so that it would blend better with the color scheme of our room!

Materials Needed: Elmer’s wood glue, wood filler, old sheets (or you can use drop cloth), sanding wedge (8—120 grit), bonding primer (or Zinsser cover stain), paint, and water-based polyurethane (or furniture wax)

Steps:

1. Correct the wood – since the dresser was chipping and cracked in several areas I used the wood filler to smooth and fill out the edges

2. Sanding: Separate the drawers and remove all of the knobs from each drawer. I actually sanded everything by hand which took me practically about 3 – 4 hours (more or less – I took breaks when my hand would get tired)…BUT I suggest using an orbital sander if you have a big piece of furniture. I used 80-120 grit sand and made sure to remove the sheen.

NOTE: Before you start to paint or prime remember to remove all of the dust and residue from the dresser. You can simply brush it off with a dry cloth – I also used a vacuum cleaner.

3. Primer: Paint a thin layer of primer; let dry for about 10 minutes and add another coat. Let this dry. I actually skipped this step because the guy from home depot said that the paint already included a primer.

4. Paint: Use a roller for the big areas (main frame of the dresser) and a good quality brush for the more detailed areas like the drawers. I used an especially small/fine brush to paint the middle small drawer. Make sure to let it dry overnight and paint another coat.

5. Seal the paint: Once the paint is dry apply the furniture wax or lacquer to protect the paint from scratches and to avoid any future chipping.

*This was my actually very first DIY project so I was extremely excited and happy with the way it turned out :)