DIY Raw Wood Dresser

by Natalie

3 Materials

$150

3 Days

Easy

Check out how we transformed a dresser from Facebook Marketplace.

Feeling inspired? Get this look with this whitewash paint that Amazon reviewers swear by!

Here’s what the dresser looked like when we bought it on Facebook marketplace.

The previous owner had started to work on the dresser but didn't end up finishing it.

First, I got to work sanding off the old finish that was left on the dresser.

This old antique dresser sanded down pretty fast since the old finish was dry and pretty thin.

And then I removed the dust that was left behind with a vacuum and then with a tack cloth.

Then I wiped a coat of poly all over the raw wood to keep the whitewash from soaking into the wood too much.

Notice how much darker the wood gets from just one coat of poly on it!

That's why I wanted to whitewash it instead of just sealing it.

After the poly was dry, I mixed up some whitewash with some white chalk paint.

Then I got a little bit of whitewash on my paint brush, and brushed it on, staying with the direction of the wood grain.

I worked in really small sections so it didn’t have time to dry or soak into the wood much.

Then I used a lint free rag to wipe it off and spread it out a little more.

I actually used the same rag for the whole dresser.

When I was happy with how the whitewash looked, I wiped the dresser down with a tack cloth and then wiped on 3 more coats of poly.

Each coat of poly dried in 15 minutes or so, so it went really fast!

I used satin poly for the first coats and then the last coat I used a matte poly to decrease the shine.

To finish it up, I added these cute little dark knobs to contrast the light raw wood look.

And to accent the dark stain that I intentionally left in the details.

You can do it! Saved to your projects

Old Dresser (https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Old+Dresser&crid=82XE2LTSJZ37&sprefix=old+)
Whitewash (https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Whitewash&crid=D1KOCT47VW98&sprefix=whitew)
Topcoat (https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Topcoat+paint&crid=2EZ7RPLQDZSVM&sprefix=t)

Ask a Question

3 of 4 questions

Mary Russell on Apr 23, 2021

Have you ever tried boiled linseed oil on bare wood?It really will make the grain stand out.

2
Judy Ellison on Apr 23, 2021

Did you remove the vanier and sand the wood under? Or did you sand right over everything

0
Therese O'Brien on Apr 23, 2021

What is poly?

3