Dresser Re-done

Earlier this year my mom passed down an old dresser to us. We needed one for the spare bedroom, and she needed the extra space. However, I hated how it looked. I hated how it functioned. So I decided to do something about it to make me love it.

The starting point

First I had to strip off the paint. My mom had coated it in a high-gloss interior paint which, if you know anything about paint, is sticky when dry. I couldn't open the drawers without some wrestling. So that had to go.

I covered the piece of furniture in this...

Let it sit...

And scraped it down.

Then I had to scrub it with mineral spirits and steel wool, and later sand it down. A tip I learned: get extra gloves and ratty shoes for this job. The chemicals will eat right through the plastic.

That done, I repainted each surface. I got the sample paints from Home Depot, a set of colors from one card that coordinated. No gloss this time, so no sticky drawers.

I liked the piecework combination of colors. They're bright and fun, and go with the brightness of the room.

But wait, you say, green and blue and yellow? Isn't that too much? Not if you coordinate it with this fabric lining the drawers!

So after I had coated the paint with Annie Sloan's clear wax seal I got out more brushes and some Modge Podge glue. I coated both the drawer under the fabric and over the fabric itself to form a tight seal and get out all the air pockets. This was a longer process than I thought, to cut the fabric, place it, let it dry, then coat it again and wait for it to dry again.

Three full bottles of Modge Podge later, I still didn't like the finish of the drawers. Also, I felt like the fabric wasn't protected enough against wear and tear. So on to option B. I got some clear furniture sealer and covered the fabric with it. Finally I felt like I could use the drawers without worrying about tears and wear.

Several of the drawers' runners still needed replacing, but all the drawers are workable.

It took a lot of work, but I do love this piece of furniture now. I feel like I turned a blah thing into an accent piece.