Class It Up Dresser Makeover

6 Materials
Medium
I had this very old and plain chest of drawers stored with intentions of re-doing it! It was in dire need of something to dress it up.
I opted to re-finish with stain, add decorative wood appliques and metal drawer pulls to achieve a classy antique look.
To start, I had to prep the piece by repairing the top, glue and clamp the drawers and then sand off all of the old finish. Then, I added the wood appliques. Using wood glue, I attached the corner appliques to the sides of the dresser inside the framework. I previously ordered other appliques from D. Lawless Hardware and decided to use them as well. I attached the large decorative piece on the top drawer and two smaller ones at the base board.
Once the wood glue was dry, I hand sanded the smooth finish on all of the appliques to soak up stain. After staining, I used an antique dark wax to seal the wood and accentuate the lines of the carvings. When it was set, I rubbed in clear bee's wax.


Finally, drilled holes for the cup pulls and attached them.
The plain chest of drawers took on a whole new classy look.
I entered this project into The Fab Furniture Flippin’ ContestTM that is sponsored by D. Lawless Hardware and the theme is "Class It Up!"
Suggested materials:
  • Stains (Gunstock for the top and Walnut for the base)   (Lowe's)
  • Sandpaper (80 grit to sand off finish and 120 grit for smooth finishing)   (Lowe's)
  • Wood Appliques   (D. Lawless Hardware)
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Robin @ Redo It Yourself Inspirations
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
  3 questions
  • Ros4224704 Ros4224704 on Sep 10, 2016
    Where did you get those beautiful drawer pulls?
  • Debbie Wall Debbie Wall on Sep 10, 2016
    I have a desk I would like to refinish but top has a Formica finish. What do I do with this?
  • Gail calcutt Gail calcutt on Sep 11, 2016
    Beautiful work!!! Where did you find the hardware pulls?
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