Drab Dresser Rehab

Holly
by Holly
Rehabbed this old dresser that lives in our bathroom. I stripped the paint off the top and front of the drawers, sanded and stained them, then painted the frame (twice! I couldn't live with the red!) antiqued the frame with a glaze and then sealed the whole thing.
AFTER
Before. Bland beige with scratches and I wish I had a picture of the top, it was a disaster!
BEFORE
I stripped the paint off the top with Cirtistrip (first time using this product and I love it! No toxic fumes and even the smell was not that bad and went away in a day. I did the whole thing in my bathroom with the window open - while pregnant). I've done a lot of wood stripping with a lot of horrifyingly toxic substances and this product was such a relief! I couldn't have done this while pregnant with any other product.
STRIPPED TOP
I used General Finishes Dark Brown Dye Stain to stain the top. Another GREAT product that I just discovered in my quest for non-toxic, pregnancy-safe products. Most other stains I've used are so toxic that I can almost taste them for the rest of the day, this one was refreshing to use and not feel like every cell in my body had absorbed it!
DARK BROWN GENERAL FINISHES DYE STAIN
Staining the top. I love how it brought out the grain.
STAINING THE TOP
I loved the top so much that I decided to strip the drawer fronts too and stain them.


Oh, and I painted the frame and sides with Mudpaint in Pomegranate. I loved this color when I saw it on other people's projects, but ultimately I couldn't live with it in my bathroom, I repainted it. I'll have to try it on something else.
TOP AND DRAWERS STAIN
Finished with General Finishes Exterior 450 flat top coat (not so flat as you can see) because of the moisture factor in the bathroom I wanted it to be as durable as outdoor furniture.
FINISHED - SORT-OF
The red had to go! Since I was already at the hardware store buying paint to fix a bench I was having issues with I picked up some paint for the dresser too. Rustoleum Chalked Paint was the most interesting option they had so I got Windsor Grey. When I put it on the dresser it turned out to be quite a bit lighter than the swatch.
RUSTOLEUM CHALKED PAINT - WINDSOR GREY
The windsor grey was too bright next to the dark stain so I wiped Rustoleum's cabinet antiquing glaze in Java over the grey to make it more earthy. I like how it came out.


The thing on the side/bottom is a child-proof thingy to keep the little ones from opening the medicine drawer. I decided to just leave it on since I have another baby on the way and plan to keep the dresser (and I didn't have more sticky stuff to put it back on if I took it off - lazy :P)
REPAINTED FRAME AND ANTIQUED
At some point I will replace the hardware with something more interesting/practical, but since I already used so many new products on this I couldn't afford hardware too. It will have to wait.
AFTER
Frequently asked questions
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  1 question
  • Dorothy Dorothy on Mar 05, 2016
    did you rub this on or paint it with a brush?i have used gel stains and my projects turn out blotchy.I love what you have done with this piece !
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