Dresser Makeover Silver Lace

Kayte
by Kayte
Easy
I recently inherited my sisters dresser. She had had it since childhood. It had one coat of paint on it and was in terrible shape! I had offered to paint it for her previously. Maybe she was attached to it's banged up look? ;)
But, now that it's in my hands, it begged for a face lift. Due to how old it is, I have no doubt that the original paint is lead based, I decided against sanding it all off. I don't have the proper equipment for that kind of job, right now, so fresh paint was the way to go!
I had seen a few dressers done with lace and thought this plain jane dresser would lend itself well to that style. It's pretty far out there for me, but it was really fun to play with! I can always paint it again if I grow tired of this look, right?! Of course I can!
I think the ole girl is rather elegant now!
As you can see, the original paint was dirty and very chipped. The shiny gold knobs were not exactly wonderful either.
Since I wasn't wild about the drawer pulls, I decided I would paint them silver so at least they would match. Turns out they look great in silver!
I originally set the drawers on the grass, but they needed to be on a more level surface so that the lace would lay completely flat. I also didn't want a gap between the drawers, so that the pattern would go from one to the next, without breaking.
Here are the freshly painted drawers. I could hardly wait for them to dry so I could get the dresser back together and see how it looked!
I took an old gold mirror I had and rubbed a bit of silver alcohol ink over it, then touch it here and there with a bit of green and very pale purple ink to give it a nice little 'patina' and color shift. I think they go together just great!
This is such a fun and easy way to ramp up a rather boring dresser! I hope my sister would like it if she could see it now. :)


I used a soft white paint on the base (Buttermilk) and a silver/aluminum metallic spray paint over the lace on the drawers.


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I've added some pictures of the mirror so you can see it better. It was originally a bronze/gold. As I mentioned previously, I used alcohol ink to 'paint' it silver. I just applied a little to a makeup sponge and wiped it on, careful to leave some of the gold showing in the carved area. Took me about five minutes and you can just throw the sponge away, so easy cleanup, too. ;)


Here's a link to the product I used. You can get it at most any craft store. (Hobby Lobby, Michael's, JoAnn's, etc.)


http://www.amazon.com/Ranger-Adirondack-Alcohol-Metallic-Mixatives/dp/B000S15IVM
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  • Christy Roppel Christy Roppel on Jul 30, 2016
    Do you have to take the lace off immediately after spraying ? Or, can you leave it till the paint dries? Or will this make it too "sticky"? I think this would look so pretty on a window or mirror too!
  • Debbie Debbie on Aug 04, 2016
    I love the final picture! Beautiful! I was wondering where you got that big of a piece of lace to use? You said it was heavy?
  • Kathy Kathy on Oct 12, 2018

    Did you use any varnish, shellac or polyurethane over it to protect it?

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  • Belles Banterings Belles Banterings on Jul 29, 2016
    Absolutely gorgeous! Thanks for sharing!!🌹
  • Occ28565104 Occ28565104 on Jul 30, 2017

    I am so impressed. I love it. I am currently re doing my daughters room from girl to teen. Audrey Hepburn inspired theme. I have a dresser just like yours but in shabby chic, plane white. I want to paint it. Did you paint the drawers silver first, then lay the lace over and spray paint the drawers with white, then pulled the lace off?

    • Kayte Kayte on Oct 12, 2018

      So sorry... just saw your question. I painted white first and then sprayed silver over the lace.

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