A Mid-Century Modern Dresser Makeover
You’d laugh if you saw my 9-year-old’s dresser.
They say that laughter is the best medicine, so if you’re feeling in need of a good laugh, here’s your daily dose of chuckles.
I didn’t clean up for you :). That disorganization is real, y’all!
I know….poor thing. The handles were falling off of this cheap $20 thrifted particle board dresser. It simply served a purposed, but it’s overstayed its welcome.
I’d been meaning to refinish a dresser for him.
It’s not like I don’t have a plethera of options (have you seen the stuff I find at my favorite thrift store???)
Like this one:
BEFORE
I had found this little guy about a year ago, and for $20, I couldn’t pass that up. Even if it was missing a knob.
….Only, I let it sit in my garage. While my baby’s dresser was falling apart. (Sorry, sweetie!).
Well, this weekend, I busted out my sanding skillz and decided to transform this baby into something that my 9-year old could be proud of.
When I asked him if he likes it when I was done, he asked, “Why wouldn’t I??”
Here’s what it looks like now!
AFTER!
To Stain or Not to Stain?
That was the question.
As much as I sometimes hate sanding, I actually really love that moment when stain hits fresh wood. It’s magical the way it sucks up the color like a magician. Paint just doesn’t have that same effect.
I decided to sand the dresser down to its bare wood, even the drawers.
TIP: When sanding wood with an orbital sander, start with tougher grit sandpaper and work your way down to a fine sandpaper.
There’s nothing like fresh, sanded wood, right?!
The thing I hate about sanding is getting into the corners. I just got one of these RYOBI Job Plus tools, which comes with a sander head for tough corners that my orbital sander can’t reach.
Sometimes I struggle with stains and figuring out what shade I really want.
But I stumbled on these two stains. They look awesome when paired together! (See how they look together on raw birch wood!)
I wanted something that looked weathered, but the shade of the bare wood affected how the stain looked. The Early American shade turned out more reddish than I expected. I probably did two coats.
When I layered the Weathered Gray on top of the Early American, I wiped it off quickly.
Then, I dipped my rag in the Early American again and wiped another coat over the Weathered Gray.
The result was that the gray got ingrained into the grain which gave it a bit more texture. I love the result!!
I painted the drawers white, but I had a crap of a time getting the white actually white because some of the old stain bled through where I tried to sand in between the grooves.
Finally, after just a couple coats, I just decided to apply a coat of wax over the paint and then try to paint again. Did it work? Meh– a little.
I finally decided that if I had a little bleed-through, oh well. My son wouldn’t notice. 😉
Not Enough Knobs!
Don’t you hate when you want to re-use knobs and pulls from an original dresser but you’re missing one?! I wish a magical Knob Fairy would just drop it in my mailbox.
This one had so many knobs it looks like the teats on the belly of a cat! HA!
I decided that I would use only four of the knobs on top since I couldn’t find #8 and just use wood filler in the bottom row of holes (then sand them smooth). It was the best solution I could come up with without having to buy new knobs.
The knobs on the bottom were left-over when we redid our kitchen 5 years ago.
The knobs were chipped gold so I used a Sharpie oil-based paint marker to have them match the silver pulls.
And my favorite crafting tool of all is Rub n’ Buff. I can’t say enough about how transformational it is! (See my post: 5 Ways to Use Rub n’ Buff).
I think it turned out really nice!
I love using Miss Mustard Seed’s hemp oil on freshly stained wood.
I wiped on two coats of oil.
The top has a weathered look, too.
I finished the painted drawers with Miss Mustard Seed’s Furniture Wax.
I actually prefer this over the Annie Sloan clear wax because this wax doesn’t smell yucky like Annie Sloan wax!
I don’t have my son’s room totally set up yet, so I’ll have to show you the dresser in its full glory once I get it together!
But I totally love how this turned out!
Maybe it’s a little grown up for my son, but he’s a big boy now. (He just started 4th grade today!)
And he doesn’t deserve a dresser that’s falling apart.
He deserves something that is handsome and functional.
The dresser was later put in my son’s blue accent wall bedroom!
So what do you guys think?! 🙂 Leave a comment and let me know what you think!
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Very nice! It’s something he can use for years to come. Good job!
Thanks, Mariylnn! I also had done a dresser several years ago for my 5-year old and he still uses it, too! It was a $25 Habitat ReStore find. 🙂 Quality wood lasts, too!
beautiful makeover on the dresser Serena. I love the white and wood tones together….it’s one of my favorite looks. (as I look around my house, I have a LOT like this)
pinning!
gail
Love, love this transformation! The bird bookends are super cute too.
Hey there, Vicki! So glad you noticed the book ends! I was actually going to post about them tomorrow! 🙂 LOL
Love this dresser! I need to go thrifting in your neighborhood, Serena. There’s a mid-century modern dresser at our local charity thrift store – needs lots of work/TLC but it has great bones. The store is asking $195 for it! This is not a consignment store – it is a thrift store. The piece has been sitting for months. And that is sort of how all the prices run in all the stores around here. They need to get over themselves. But I love the way your son’s dresser turned out. My brother makes and refinishes furniture (he is a real artist) – he also says “brown wood” is out, but we all still like it!
Yep, Gretchen! All the rave now is painted furniture! I love to mix paint and stain. I think it looks really good together! But wow….$195 for a dresser at the thrift store?? I actually did a post about that recently, asking the question if you’d pay $250 for a thrifted buffet like the one I saw at the thrift store, and you know what? I probably would (IF I really loved it and IF I had the disposible income). I guess I look at it as supporting the thrift store. But if they’re just jacking up prices to be greedy–that’s not cool. Do they have 50% off days?
Georgeous!
Thanks, Ruth!
I really like your re-doing furninture. You have given me all kinds of inspiration. Your guys’ dresser is so very nice! I know he is appreciative…
Thanks, Jean! That’s what I’m here for–inspiration and motivation! 🙂 Would love to see what you’re working on, too. Send me a pic!
Great job on your son’s makeover! I’m sure he’s thrilled! My son had plastic boxes for the longest time before I finished a dresser for him…thank goodness boys are easy, right? Quick tip,,cover stained wood with a shellac before painting to seal it so it doesn’t bleed through paint.
Hey, Wendi! Plastic boxes–MINE, TOO!!! I finally moved the plastic “dresser” over to my walk-in closet and I’m using it for storage of other off-season clothes. HAHA. Great tip on the bleeding through. I’ve tried it before but didn’t have great success with the shellac. Maybe I didn’t use it properly? Not sure, butI’ll have to get some to have on hard for the next time! Thanks! 🙂
As always, it’s super stinking cute!
I have had problems with tannins bleeding through before, when I was painting a cedar fence. The solution was to use oil paint, which is rather hard to come by these days I find.
As Wendi (below) says, use shellac to prevent the tannins from bleeding. I just use a couple of light coats of spray shellac, letting each coat dry…it only takes a few minutes if it is a light coat. Use 3 coats if it is a really old piece.
I love it!
Thank you, Sue! 🙂
GORGEOUS! and it’s something he can take with him throughout his life – college, first apartment, etc…
Oh, Debbie, what a great idea!! He definitely can! Not like that cheapie particle board on. Awww…and he’s know that Mommy did it for him :). Thanks for bringing that to my attention!