Dresser Refresh

Lynnette Soltwedel
by Lynnette Soltwedel
9 Materials
$100
2 Days
Easy

If you follow me, you know I am an avid furniture flipper. This piece was purchased to go in our grandsons room. There is a matching nightstand (that will be it’s own post later) that will get the same type of update. This little guys room has a bed I flipped awhile back. It is a lovely shade of yellow! This bad boy is a LARGE dresser, sporting 12 drawers!! So here we go....

Here is the picture from the facebook ad I saw. There are three drawers hiding behind those doors. While picking it up, I discovered they had the matching nightstand for sale also! Of course we purchased it as well.

Sanding, sanding, sanding....orbital sander for the large surfaces (start with a lower grit (120) and finish with a higher grit (220 or higher). Wanted to do some staining on those doors...hand sanding was needed. Also wanted to stain on front of dresser to keep those cute accent dots visible. That required sanding the front all the way down to bare wood.

After wiping away all the dust from sanding...STAIN time. This is a custom blend of stain. Using a base of classic gray with some ebony mixed in to darken it up. I have learned to MEASURE when mixing in case I need to duplicate the stain. 😂

Oh yes, lovely!! Nothing like a pretty new stain finish.

Inside picture, stain looks a bit darker now! Poly needed to be done INSIDE due to humidity being high. Always keep that in mind when working on a project. Temperature and humidity can have a HUGE impact on proper application and drying times.

Since there was some additional staining done on this piece, base coat was faster to brush on (otherwise a ton of taping and paper would have been needed). *sigh* spray painting is so much easier. 🤷‍♀️ Since this is going to need to match the bed, I will be doing some distressing, and the bed has a black base coat.

Between coats, a light sanding with a 320 grit will help eliminate any brush marks and give you the smoothest finish! Usually 2 coats of chalk paint is plenty, but this yellow will take more. 😑 FOUR coats of yellow.

Sanding between coats...this is three coats, and will need one more! Not sure if it is the brand of paint or just the color going over black...I would have used a different paint, BUT this is to match an existing bed.

Applying coat two on the three “hidden” drawers. See what I mean about needing extra coats?

Oh man, look how awesome these doors are looking with the stain/paint combo!

TEDIOUS....using a small, angled art brush, painting around the edges of the drawers. All nine of them. 😳 did I mention it is taking FOUR coats of the yellow.

Oh yes, looking good! I have given up wax and poly is my sealer choice (or Dixie Belle Gator Hide).

The humidity was low enough to poly these bad boys outside. This is after a light distressing!

The hardware needed a fresh look as well! Rustoleum spray paint to the rescue! Used a satin nickel finish, remember light coats to prevent running.

Look at this beauty now! Need new knobs for the doors (the matching nightstand has a broken one), but other than that. DONE. You can even see the corner post of the matching bed frame. ☺️

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  2 questions
  • Robyn Garner Robyn Garner on Sep 06, 2019

    After having to do 4 coats of the yellow, would you (next time) use varnish to seal the black first? And/or paint it with a white primer?

  • Micheal Micheal on Aug 26, 2020

    I have this exact same dresser. In fact I have the whole suit. I bought it when I was 19. I would like to go to a country french feel in my bedroom. Could it be done with what I have by adding some white where you added the yellow? Thanks you did an amazing job

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4 of 18 comments
  • Jessie Jessie on Aug 29, 2019

    Fabulous !!


  • Bek Bek on Aug 25, 2020

    This is one of those things that will stand the test of time. The yellow is great for where he is now, and can fairly easily be switched out to something more "adult" as he matures. From the little corner of bed that is visible, I know his room looks terrific!

    • Lynnette Soltwedel Lynnette Soltwedel on Aug 25, 2020

      Thank you. For now the yellow is perfect. He likes bright colors and we have monster decals in various bright colors on his walls with matching bedding. 💕

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