Taking an old out dated piece of furniture and breathing new life into it is one of my favorite things. I so enjoy a furniture refresh. Especially if they’re really not pretty.
My son and daughter in law had an ugly dresser and nights stands that they’d been using for a couple years. I had wanted to make them over for awhile. When they finally said they were ready for me to update them I was thrilled. We hauled them to our place so we could get going.
Before
The dresser was purchased from the second hand app ‘offer up’. It was well made and decent quality just finished poorly.
Our daughter in law wanted it to have some dimension on the top. Add some feet to the bottom, change out the handles and repaint.
I was super excited to get going. To begin I went to Lowe’s to see what they had for handles and look for turned rounds for the feet. Lowe’s is a little farther away from me then Home Depot but I find they have a better selection of handles.
I hit the jack pot and found the perfect handles and feet. After my daughter in law picked the paint color we were ready to get going on the project.
Prep Work
To begin we used the router to add dimension to the top and drawers. Monte ran the router while I ran the mouse sander to rough up the paint. I didn’t sand the paint off completely but I like to get the top layers off before I paint.
With the new edge on the dresser and drawers it was already looking much better.
Painting
The dresser painted so quickly. There weren’t any hidden spaces that were tricky to get into. I used the brush to get in the edge then used the roller along the top, sides and front. I like using a foam roller it worked really nicely for the flat sides and new routered edges. That made the drawers super easy to paint. I ran the roller around the edge then across the top quick and easy.
Sitting the dresser on this little table made it super slick. It made painting the sides super easy. This project was done in the spring before it got super hot but my garage was plenty warm so the paint dried quickly.
After the first coat of paint and letting it dry I sanded all the painted surfaces with my sanding sponge. Sanding between coats of paint and after the final coat makes the finished product so much better. When you paint the little fibers from the wood stand up and made it feel rough. Lightly sanding with a sanding block knock off those little fibers and leave a soft smooth finish. You won’t damage the fresh paint if you use a fine grit sanding sponge and sand lightly.
I decided to caulk along the edge of the dresser after I did a coat of paint. It only took a couple minutes and gave the dresser and much nicer finish.
Adding the feet
The turned round feet were a perfect find. They looked great and added so much to the finished product. I decided to paint them before they were installed. Monte had to do a little figuring to get them to work but he managed. If we were building the dresser we would have preplanned how they were going to be installed. Because we were working with an already build piece of furniture it took a bit to make them work.
Adding the Hardware
The final piece to the project was adding the hardware. I love how adding new handles changed up the look of the dresser.
My daughter in law wanted handles on the top drawers and knobs on the bottom drawers. I used the same upper handles on her night stands so they tied in perfectly.
This is now a beautiful piece of furniture that looks amazing. It will work in their room for years to come.
Working on projects with and for my kids is one of my favorite things to do. Monte and I love helping our kids. It fills us with so much joy.
Budget and Paint
My daughter in law picked the Benjamin Moore color duxbury gray. I took the paint swatch to Home Depot where they were able to mix up a gallon of paint. I was tempted to purchase a pint of paint but I find the pint doesn’t go very far and I usually have to pick up more. So I have learned to just get the gallon and hang onto the left over paint. I often find uses for the paint and am always glad to have it around.
The cost to this project was under $100. I purchased the feet, the handles and the paint. It didn’t take very long. I think it was worth the investment to end up with a beautiful piece of furniture.
Final Results
After the dresser was finished we let it sit in the garage for 24 hours just to give the paint time to harden. We then loaded it into our vehicle and delivered it to our son and daughter in law. They were thrilled with the final results. It looks so pretty in their master bedroom and ties in beautifully with the accent wall and decor they have.
Before they added any decor to the top they let the dresser sit for a couple more days just to give the paint ample time to cure. I think my favorite part of this now beautiful dresser is the top that we routered and the handles. Adding new handles to any piece of furniture really elevates it and makes it look new and refreshed. Whether its kitchen or bathroom cupboards or a piece of furniture you will never go wrong by added some new hardware.
The options are endless and the cost varies a lot. I’m a firm believer in quality but that doesn’t always mean you have to spend a fortune.
