Homemade Chalk Paint Transformation

Tymes Past
by Tymes Past
Medium
One rough-looking dresser + homemade chalk paint + sweat equity = a new beauty!
This old dresser had seen better days. It had paint smeared here and there and was missing some hardware--a drawer pull and some of the keyhole escutcheons. As usual, I forgot to take a "before" pic of the whole dresser...I am usually so anxious to get started on a project, it's only after I've started into it that I remember "before" pics. I had already started to paint the front, but you get the idea of the condition it was in from this side view and the drawer below.
The drawer pulls were black, tarnished brass...I found a match for the missing one on ebay, but when it came, it was so much cleaner and brighter that I knew I could not get them to match without cleaning the pressed brass plates entirely. I did not want shiny hardware. The top two smaller drawers each had two pulls. I filled the original holes (using matchsticks, glue and wood filler), then drilled new holes for one handle per drawer. That gave me the extra pull I needed.
I used salt and lemon juice to clean them up a bit...I still wanted to retain some aged patina so I just scrubbed and buffed them until I achieved the look I was after. I love they way they turned out...just enough age to blend with the distressed finish of the new chalk paint.
It took three coats of paint to get the coverage I wanted. I've never been able to use one coat of chalk paint as some folks say they do--maybe I brush mine out more than others??


I used my mouse sander to distress the paint. I love how the distressing brought out the beautiful details of the carved applied trim pieces.
The finished product looks nothing like the sad little dresser I started with. A little paint and a little loving attention can turn a castoff into a keeper.
For more pics and details, see my full post on my blog. http://tinyurl.com/mm4x27y
Tymes Past
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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