Hey guys! Long time no see, but I haven’t had a whole lot to share… it’s all eat, sleep, poop over here… oh and taking care of a baby, too. 😉 With the long weekend, I finally had some time to finish up a couple of dressers I had been working on for our upcoming June sale at Sweet Clover. Today I am going to share with you the first furniture makeover: coastal blue and wood midcentury dresser. it’s funny because when I began refinishing furniture 11 (eleven!!!!) years ago, I looked for pieces with pretty details, and these days I am so much more drawn to the sleek and straight lines of a good midcentury dresser. This piece fit that bill perfectly… sleek and straight… but it was a little drab, and had several scratches, mostly on the top surface. It was in need of just a little love and elbow grease to bring it to life.
I found this dresser on my local Craigslist, and it was such a steal that I carted my 9 month pregnant self over to the seller’s house and picked it up. I didn’t start working on it until last week though, when I was ready to get back in the painting saddle. As you can see and as I mentioned, the top of the dresser was pretty worn.
The drawers, however, were in great shape and featured beautiful wood grain. This dresser was the perfect candidate for a two toned finish, and with its nice masculine shape, General Finishes Coastal Blue was a great complementary color.
I removed all of the drawers and sanded the body of the dresser using 180 grit sandpaper in my orbital sander. I decided to leave the legs wood to complement the drawers so I didn’t sand those. Once it was sanded, I wiped it down with a damp rag and allowed it to dry before painting.
Next I applied two coats of Coastal Blue with my favorite angled purdy brush, painting in line with the wood grain as always. Painting in this direction will give you the smoothest possible finish.
After the paint dried, I used 0000 grade steel wool to smooth out the finish. Super fine steel wool like this just helps remove any little blemishes. I use steel wool when I am painting with dark colors sometimes, but never with white as it can leave a little dark tint on the paint.
Finally, I waxed the painted area of the dresser with Black Bison clear wax. I’ve told you all before, but this truly is my favorite wax… it’s non-toxic and leaves a great hard finish for a wax. I allowed the wax to dry for about 15 minutes and then buffed it. I often use rags to buff because I always have them on hand, but I love using scratch-free scouring pads, which is what I used on this. They leave no lint behind and give that perfect sheen.
After all was said and done, Chris helped me move it to the porch for its official photo shoot… I would love to have a perfect backdrop for photos, but I just don’t have the space. Instead, we’re going for a lush green and English garden setting. Would you like a spot of tea with that dresser?
I am taking this piece over to Sweet Clover this week to have it ready for our upcoming June sale. Later this week or next week I’ll be sharing another dresser flip with you! It feels good to be outside again, painting in the sunshine… a little creative alone time can do wonders for the tired mama’s soul.
Supplies used (Click on the image to be taken to the link):
