Gray and Natural Wood Mid Century Dresser

by The Weathered Door

I drove an hour and a half for this dresser because it just seemed like a fun piece to work on. It took a lot of work to get it done, but it was worth it! This piece went through many phases of paint and stain options before ending up in its final state.

gray and natural wood mid century dresser, painted furniture

In its before state it was missing all four legs and one side apron piece. For some reason someone removed the legs at one point which made it awkwardly short.

I added some legs from a thrift store ottoman to add height and style.

To state I stripped the drawers. Watch my video on stripping furniture here. What appeared to be burled wood on the drawers was actually a paper-thin veneer that did not hold up to stripping and sanding. I sanded it all off and found this light wood and like the contrast it had to the walnut veneer.

I did try staining the drawers but decided I preferred the natural look. To keep the lighter color I sealed with 3 coats of a low sheen poly.

I sanded (lots of sanding) and filled the frame of the dresser. Bondo helped to fill in scratched and dings from years of wear and I also filled the grain so it wouldn't come through the paint.

Next I sprayed on 2 coats of primer. I let that dry for 24 hours before sanding with high grit finishing sandpaper.

Click over to my blog to see the reveal of this dresser!

The frame of the dresser was sprayed using an HVLP spray gun. Learn more about how I paint here. I chose to use an oil-based enamel in a satin finish. It sprayed beautifully and has the loveliest sheen.

This wood tone and grey paint pairing isn't something I normally do so it was fun to try a new look on a piece that needed some love.

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3 questions

Ethyl on Aug 20, 2016
Very nice, but I love the plant in the vase of water:)) Can you tell me the name of it? Ethyl

5
Queenbee on Aug 21, 2016
For a very long piece like that why wouldn't u put another set of legs in the middle of it to keep it from sagging down especially bease the legs r so tall? I hate that when I see long couches and there r no middle legs to support it especially if people sit on it all the time. I don't think the frame would hold up with time.

1
Mwrighthastinhs on Aug 27, 2016
Love the drawers where did you find the legs their so 60 s. I too need to find legs for my 60s tile table need metal

4

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Sharose on Aug 22, 2016
It looks awesome. Great job!

1 Reply
Carey on Sep 02, 2016
I keep hearing of people using oil based paints on this and I would like to know where you live that you can get them. We can't get them anymore here in Washington and so many of the paints that we have access to now just are not very hardy. They are getting better, but I really liked the finish that I obtained with an oil based paint. Years ago, I refinished my piano and it really turned out nicely. The piano tuner that came to tune it asked me who I had refinish it and when I told him that I had done it, he said it was the best job he had ever seen! What a nice compliment! I had taken it completely apart, laid the pieces out on the garage floor in order and began scraping and sanding before I put on the final finish. BIG JOB!!!

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- The Weathered Door on Oct 06, 2016
  Hi Carey. I live here is WA and can get oil paint and lacquer. Try Sherwin Williams, Benjamin Moore, Daly's, or Rodda. They all stock and sell oil paint. Lacquer is normally only sold at select stores who carry industrial finishes which are most commonly used by contractors and not home owners.
  
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- Carey on Oct 08, 2016
  Thank you so much for your reply. I used an oil based refinish kit to refinish my piano years ago and it turned out wonderfully. Since that I have had a hard time finding the products to repeat that wonderful finish. Your help is much appreciated. Thanks again. Carey
  
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