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 youĀ 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.Ā
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, IĀ wiped it off quickly.
Then, I dipped my rag in the Early American again and wiped another coat over the Weathered Gray.
The result wasĀ 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 whiteĀ actuallyĀ whiteĀ 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. š
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 markerĀ 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?! šĀ Leave a comment and let me know what you think!
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Hi Serena just wanted to say I love your china cabinet makeover along with all of the other ones, I own a beautiful china / curio cabinet that dates back to early 1900’s it is gorgeous however it has a bit of termite damage that are no longer active along with 2 broken brackets ; after seeing beautiful make over I am taking it as inspiration to hopefully soon finish mine, thank you for sharing and can’t wait to see more.
Hi, Isabel! Thanks! I’m glad that I was able to inspire you with my china cabinet. What color do you have in mind for yours? I can’t wait to see it. Send me a picture when you’re done!!
So Pretty! Well done!
Hi Serena,
I have fallen behind in my projects as I got my next book ready for release this month. Meeting Ms. Monroe is a novel about Marilyn Monroe, with a twist. Anyway….I have to start painting my guest room and bar area walls before I can do the furniture but I’m itching to get going. It’s just about cool enough here that I can start painting in my garage again without melting. Love the dresser, so functional and he can add different pulls if he wants to change it up!!
Hey, friend!! Well, when you’re writing a book, I imagine the whole world ceases to exist as you throw yourself into that novel! š LOL. I can’t wait to read it! I hate to say I never finished Beatrice Munson or the other one despite my goal of finishing 1 book per month! š I hate that I’ve let my reading go. It’s something that used to be one of my favorite activities. I think I need to re-set that goal and finish your books!
When are you moving?
Love your plan to reuse knobs without have to spend $. Also congrats on modeling gig.
Yeah, it’s awful being in the middle of a project and having to stop to go buy KNOBS! Thankfully I had some on hand! š And was able to make it work with the top row of small knobs only! WHEW! Thanks, Carole!
Serena, this dresser is just awesome. Where I live trhere is so much furniture on the street on pick up day, some of them are just beautiful pieces. . I convinced my husband to pick up three chairs off the curb, next is to convince im to buy a pick up, so I can haul some of the pieces. Love your work gir. You are truly talented
Eileen, good luck convincing your hubby! š I worry about these poor hubbies with these wives that love junk. We collect so much of it because we love it and it’s fun, but they just don’t get it, and have to put up with us. š LOL. That’s awesome you have some much to pick from, too! Where do you live again?
I absolutely LOVE this make-over! Kind of a pain to have to put 3-4 coats of stain on it, but in the end it turned out perfect. I bet your son is proud of his new dresser! š
Yeah, but it was so much fun seeing the color come alive and experiment with stain in that way! I know that stains not that popular, but when you layer it just right, it’s amazing how weathered and unique the wood can be! Did you see that DIY drink holder I did? When it was plain birch plywood, it turned out so awesome with Early American and Weathered Gray together! It’s my new “go to” combo! š
Thanks, Jennifer!
Serena, gorgeous job on the dresser! I am shocked you had success applying hemp oil over fresh stain. When I recently did it, after waiting 24 hours, the hemp oil started removing my stain and turned parts of it into liquid goo. I noticed you apply your stain with a rag whereas I use a foam brush. Maybe that’s the trick. I found applying a wood conditioner (I use Minwax product) over the bare wood first really helps with the stain and may help with the bleed too. Otherwise, good old fashioned shellac ALWAYS does the trick. Your son must be thrilled with his new dresser!
Hey, Marie! Hmmm….I wonder why yours didn’t work? Maybe it was wood conditioning? I find myself never using it, and I think I still have okay results (unless the results I’m getting are totally screwed up and I don’t realize it! LOL). I’ve used wood conditioner once, on my dining table that I sanded and stained, and it was a HORRIBLE stain job! OMG….just terrible. Thankfully, I salvaged it.
Thanks for the shellac tip. I have used the spray one before and it didn’t work, which is why I never tried it again. But I’m going to give it a “go” again one the next piece that stains to see if it works better!
Oh my, it never dawned on me that it could be the wood conditioner I applied! I know hemp oil works best on porous surfaces so perhaps the wood conditioner didn’t allow the hemp oil to penetrate into the wood. As for Shellac, I haven’t had much success with the spray on kind and prefer brushing it on with a cheap chip brush.
That’s the only thing I can think of that would cause it! I’d do an experiment if I were go. Try an old piece of furniture–one side WITH conditioner and the other side with none, and see if it makes a difference! I’m curious to know.
THANK YOU, Serena, for the reminder about Rub n’ Buff! I am currently working on a chair redo, and I was trying to decide what to do about the ball casters. They are very tarnished and have some rust, but I want to keep them on the chair because they still work well. Rub n’ Buff will do the job nicely! š
You’re welcome! Love that stuff, Gracie! š
Love this make-over Serena! And I’ve never tried MMS wax… I’ll have to give it a go! š
Thank you, Denise! š Yeah, I really love the MMS wax! It doesn’t smell!! š