A Custom Painted Wardrobe and Dresser
6 Materials
We purchased a Waterfall type wardrobe and dresser, but didn’t have a clue how we wanted to paint them. I posted them on a couple of selling sites as is and offered to custom paint them. A friend (and my hair stylist) who had a vision loved them and knew exactly what she wanted them to look like. She purchased them and the process to transform these pieces with good bones but needing a lot of work began.
My friend had seen a chest I had painted gray and with drawers left original. The dresser drawers were in good enough shape that this would be possible to do. So, we had a plan and started with that piece.
All the original pulls were there but they needed some restoration. I had found a product I loved called Rub n Buff. I chose to use Antique Copper on the hardware and the result was amazing! There is a good video tutorial on Rub n Buff on youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEuU_hZNMqE
After I buffed the dresser hardware, I sealed it with a couple of coats of water-based polyurethane to keep them looking good.
Then came the transformation of the dresser. I used Missouri Limestone Paint Company’s chalk-based paint “Gray Goose” on the base. Due to the dark color and the old wood, I chose to then use a couple of coats of Minwax’s Sanding Sealer, sanding in between coats to even out the finish. I applied 3 coats of Varanthane’s water-based satin finish to seal and the finish was smooth as glass.
Note: Due to a question about the sanding sealer, I have an update about it. I have found that old, dried out wood like this piece had, will cause the chalk-based paint to go on unevenly as it soaks in too much in places. This, in turn, causes the varathane to go on unevenly. I did use the sanding sealer before I painted. That isn't very clear in the step above. It is important with the darker colors also as they uneveness really shows up. I don't use it all the time, just on pieces like this one.
For the mirror and drawers I was able to keep the original wood. I brought out the beauty of the wood with a couple of coats of Varathane’s water-based stain and sealer. They turned out beautiful.
Next up was the wardrobe. My friend found an awesome inspiration piece on Pinterest. I painted the outside of the wardrobe and the drawer fronts with Missouri Limestone Paint’s chalk-based paint with “Trading Post”, a beautiful turquoise. The drawers and the inside of the wardrobe were painted with “Field Corn”, a bright yellow.
The inside of the inspiration piece had a dandelion decal. We were able to find the same exact decal on Amazon. I researched and found it was best to seal the decal with Modpodge. I used two coats of Modpodge on the decals then sealed everything with 3 coats of Varathane’s water-based satin polyurethane. I did not use the sanding sealer on the lighter color paint. I also used Rub n Buff on the hardware.
The redefined wardrobe is stunning and my friend was very happy with the final pieces.
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Thanks for the info....I use primer on some things also, but normally chalk-based paint needs no primer. But the sanding sealer worked well on this. I researched it before I tried it. I'm not sure you are aware of the properties of chalk-based paint, but in case you aren't, it isn't like regular paint sitting on top of the wood....it does get into the fibers of the wood like stain does so that is why the sanding sealer works with chalk-based paint.
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Never used chalk paint. Most Hometalkers rave about it. No prep, no sealing, goes on smooth. Many have even made their own and shared recipes.
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Love it!
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