It’s been a long time since I’ve shared a furniture makeover around here! With Sweet Clover in its busy season, as soon as I finish a piece lately I haul it right over to the shop and never give it a proper shoot. So this piece received its shoot on the sales floor.
Sometimes I pick up pieces of furniture I am not immediately in love with, but that have potential and, let’s face it, fit into my very thrifty budget. That was the case with this eventual distressed midcentury dresser. I found it on craigslist for a great deal and knew I could give it new life. I loved the wood finish and planned to keep it as is at least on the drawers, but change it’s ugly non-original hardware (and I apologize because I don’t have a before picture). When I arrived to pick it up, I found out how ridiculously heavy it was, and it seemed the drawers weren’t working properly. I thought they were just not in the right spot and tried every configuration…. it seemed they wouldn’t work. The sellers were moving that day and I felt badly and just bought it anyhow because I am a big fat sucker.
I brought it home, removed the hardware only to find the unoriginal hardware was hiding holes from the original hardware, so each of the larger drawers had 4 holes, which meant filling holes, and no keeping those drawers wood.
Onto plan B.
I remembered seeing this dresser my friend Chelsea painted recently, and drooling over it- and it was white, distressed, midcentury. I decided to give that look a go with this one.
I sanded the dresser all over, filled holes, and gave it a few coats of primer. Here it is with one coat pf primer, so you have an idea of what I was working with.
After priming it, I applied two coats of General Finishes Antique White Milk Paint. It was very rainy that day, and I painted in my garage and it didn’t seem like the paint was sticking. I felt like I could just scratch it off. I was ready to haul it out into the rain and run over it a kajillion times at this point… I was so frustrated and nothing was going as I had planned with this piece. I decided to walk away for the day, before I got too frustrated.
The next day I went back to the garage and found that the paint was perfectly fine and was not coming off. I think the humidity was playing games with me! I started to distress it by hand, but to be quite frank, I was feeling lazy and this dresser had already been the bane of my existence… I just wanted to be DONE. So I took my orbital sander to it, and went to town distressing the edges. Once I had a look I was pleased with, I applied General Finishes satin wax with a rag and then gave it a good buffing. I will say- this dresser feels as smooth as a baby’s bottom!
Finally, the crowning touch, I used some silver branch pulls I had in my stash and paired them with some silvered faceted knobs I found at Hobby Lobby. I added the new hardware, and when I put the drawers back in, I realized what way they were supposed to go finally, and now they all slide in and out with no issues!
So it’s functional now, and pretty! I really love its final look.
The knobs are stunning!
And of course the branch pulls add a lovely rustic modern touch.
And now I don’t want to run it over anymore…. I actually love it enough to want to keep it, but you can’t keep them all, can you? It didn’t go to a new home this past weekend, but maybe at our next sale November 20-22 it will find someone to love it like I do! But it might take time, too. Because sometimes, you really have to grow to love something, right?
Have you ever had a piece you wanted to toss in the burn pile? I want to hear your stories!