Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Even ugly dressers have feelings

It's true. Even the ugliest dressers out there want to be loved. So today, I show you how to do just that.

It started with Sarah, she had the fan-freakin tastic dresser in her kitchen, genius. I loved it. This was way back when I first started blogging, then Chris wanted to recreate it and I drooled as I saw her take a walmart version to new heights. All the while keeping it in my idea file, you know.. in my head. Because, this was before the wonders of pintrest.

Anyway then time went by and I couldn't find anything just right. Boo. But then, Mrs. Bower fancied up this lovely thing and I knew.. It was time to up my game.

I stalked Craigslist for a long long time looking for just the right dresser. With no such luck. Then one glorious day I found one, and it was eerily similar to Katie Bowers, so I emailed him as fast as my little fingers could and what do you know, it was still available. And, best part? Forty bucks. Yup, for the price of dinner out I had a brand new to me dresser that would soon look amazing if I had anything to do with it.



I brought it home and assessed the damage. First though, dang. This isn't worth 40.00.



Ha.
Jokes on me I guess.



But, I still wanted a freakin' dresser in my dining room! So I fixed up the dings and dents with wood filler, sanded, primed and painted it with what seemed like 100 never ending coats. The key to getting paint to stick is to give it curing time. True story. All the furniture I've done before in a rush gets ruined oh so fast, but with my dining room table I took my time. Let that baby cure, used the right brushes and rollers and it's help up through everything and still looks great.

So paint, wait, sand, wipe down, paint, wait, sand wipe and then top coat. Got it? Good.

{I used a foam roller for most of it and touched it up with a foam brush, they're cheap and I don't feel bad throwing them away when I'm done. They also don't leave brush strokes or roller marks. I primed that baby with Zinnser primer and used the no VOC paint from Lowes because I had it on hand, if I wanted to put a little more money into it I would have gotten a little bit more creamy white, this one is pretty cool toned but, eh, cheap Rachelle won this one. :) I used Deft top coat because it doesn't yellow, it's also the same thing we used on the table and it held up so well! }

Then comes the jewelry. I even used the same hardware as KB. Hate me, I know. But I love the vintage look and the contrast against the white. It works okay, don't mess with perfection. These may or may not have cost the same price as the dresser. But they sure are pretty, right?


So there she is. In all her glory. I think she looks like a million bucks personally, and she's the best dresser-wanna-be-buffet I've ever seen. Better yet, right now she's hiding the missing trim from the leaky window that's yet to be fixed.


The top two drawers are a little wonky but I think I can live with it. I'm afraid to try and fix it and mess it up more.

Does anyone else see two faces here? No? Just me?

I plan on keeping my rotating decor items in the bottom drawers and my bigger cooking items and serving dishes in the top drawers.



Plus anything else I can think of, since I have 6 more drawers of storage now! Whoop! Right now there's lots of room though, score!

Now, I think it's time to finally cut up the fabric for the curtains don't you? Ugh, I've been dreading it for a year now. It's on that to do list ;)


Linking up to Emily's Anything goes party!

19 comments:

Decorchick! said...

Oh yes! That totally looks like a million bucks! Bye bye leaky window, you don't exist now!

Kelly @ View along the way said...

Beautiful! It looks a hundred and fifty times happier now. I love the little swoopy thing on the bottom too. Yay!

Tanya said...

That turned out beautiful! I have a dresser waiting for a sunny day that I can take it outside and give it the same treatment. Great job & thanks for the inspiration =)

Designed by Chance said...

The dresser really looks great! Don't worry too much about the curtains, I'm sure you will do fine. I'm always a little hesitant to make that first cut, in fear of making a mistake.

Angie Holden said...

That is gorgeousness!! Way to go!!

Dragonfliez Made said...

Beautiful!
I wanted a dresser buffet too, but HandsomeMan found a Drexel Hutch and Buffet that he wont let me touch with paint :-( Oh well it is still pretty.

Wendy said...

What to go Rachelle! It turned out fabulously :)

Leah said...

Rachelle - I have this exact dresser and picked it up at Goodwill for $19.99. Mine seems very sturdy but I haven't yet painted it from it's original ugly stain :) You have definitely given me inspiration to get the job done and have a beauty on my hands!!

Melanie said...

You are my hero! That's just perfect! Come link up at Tuesday Time Out!


Smiles,
Melanie
Reasons To Skip The Housework
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Heather{Our Life In a Click} said...

Wow turned out great!! That last photo had me a little dizzy until I figured out what it was. :)

Mama Thompson said...

It looks amazing...and the storage is fantastic too!

Comeca Jones said...

great job!Perfect!

Katie said...

I saw "Mrs. Bower" and thought to myself...how does Rachelle know my mother in law?! And she has that dresser? weird!
Then I came to my senses and was able to enjoy the rest of the post :) You did a wonderful job - looks great!
xo - kb

www.SignificantlySimple.com said...

It turned out beautifully! Nice work! :)

Amanda- Eating in Winnipeg said...

it turned out great! well done!

Lady J said...

Gorgeous and very inspiring!
Have you tried switching the wonky drawers? I have a silly little old wooden dresser that has to have the drawers put back in the right order, even though the drawers *look* like they are interchangeable. Just a thought.

Thanks for showing us your wonderful work!

Meredith said...

love it. white paint kinda fixes everything, right? :)
YOURS, MINE AND OURS

Sarah said...

Looks great and I'm happy that you were inspired!

Melissa said...

Where did you get that lamp on top of the dresser?! I love it!

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