Dresser Project

I picked up this dresser a couple weeks ago at a yard sale. My husband and I were headed home from running errands, and I spotted it as we drove by - needless to say I made my husband turn that car around!

The wood was a little dinged up in places, the feet were damaged, and there was nasty stained green fabric covering the inside of one of the drawers.

But really, this dresser is so heavy and sturdy....the woman who sold it to me had all the pieces to put the dresser legs back together... and we needed more storage in our family room. Plus, I had been looking for a "project" and so I was in the mood to tackle something like this.

First and foremost, it needed a good cleaning. I think there was dust on this thing older than me! Then I followed these steps to painting furniture from Bryn Alexandra at Bryn Alexandra Interiors. I filled in some of the deep dents and holes and glued the leg pieces back together. I gave it two coats of primer and two coats of white paint (sanding in between each coat) and then two coats of water based poly protector. I also picked up new knobs at Hobby Lobby, and.... here she is:

(Excuse the shadows from the knobs.. the lighting isn't the greatest in our family room.)

As for the green fabric - I couldn't get that off for the life of me, so I had to cover it with new fabric.

I think it turned out pretty good for a "first" project.

I had a hard time getting the poly protector on evenly. It was hard for me to see the clear gloss as I was painting it on - so in the light, I can see some unevenness. The hardest part though - having patience between each coat. I wanted to get it done already!! It was torture waiting in between steps... but I'm really glad I did. I like the way it turned out.

Speaking of furniture makeovers, have you checked out Better After? It's a really fun blog that features different before and after projects. I look at it at least once a day!