Friday, March 18, 2011

Refurbishing a Dresser

Is it just me and my area.  Or are all of the second hand stores out there charging way to much for old used furniture.  I could understand if it was vintage.....but the model 3 years ago from the room store??? I have been looking for a sturdy old bed for my little girl, and I couldn't find a second hand bed that I could paint for less than what I could by one for new.  So I went to IKEA...The full size bed was only $89.  VERY easy to put together and EXTREMELY sturdy.  So I highly recommended.  They didn't pay me a dime to say so...

At a Garage Sale I purchased a dresser and 2 end tables for $60.  It was a great deal but they were in rough shape and needed LOTS of love.

You will need:
Sandpaper or Sanding tool.
Paint of your choice
Sealer for your choice.
paint roller (I got the one for cabinets and it worked great)
small paint brush
wide paint brush for sealer...
(Paint supplies were expensive.  about $60)

First thing I did was remove the BRASS handles.  I then sanded the entire dresser.  I personally started with sand paper....then my husband interrupted with this tool that sands and it took about 5-10 minutes to sand the dress that would have taken me an hour or 2 by hand. (thank goodness)  The dress is wood and my grandfather is going to roll around in his grave when he finds out I painted a wood dresser white.  Hopefully he will realize that in the future my daughter can sand and restore this dresser herself.  It is an item that will last a long time.
The dresser had this black lacquer coating and it would have taken forever to remove it all, even with the greatest tools.

I then began to paint.  It took about 5 coats.  My paint had a primer but white on black wasn't so easy.

Here is what it looked like between 1st and 2nd coat.  I allowed about an hour between each coat It wasn't a problem because by the time I finished painting the dresser & all of the drawers.  My other work was dry.

Here it is finished.  5 coats of white...and I spray painted the handles with a brushed silver spray paint....
I will post photos when I have completed the entire room.  I also did a side table as well....but the process was the same...  I hope you enjoy.  I would love to see your before and after projects.

3 comments:

  1. WOW.. what a transformation!! Fatastic job! What a cool dresser to begin with..I love the shape of the bottom legs. This piece will definately brighten any room!

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  2. Great job on the transformation of the dresser! TFS

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  3. Gorgeous job Stacy! Come do some for me! HA HA

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