The Pinterest Inspired Ferris Wheel Dresser

Stacy Davis
by Stacy Davis
8 Materials
$30
2 Hours
Medium
I have been dragging an old dresser around for 5 years waiting for inspiration to strike. It has never been out of the garage in the last 4 houses. I kept thinking that I needed to get rid of it because we really needed the valuable garage real estate that it was occupying. There is a popular Ferris Wheel dresser on Pinterest. I went to the pin which led me to someone's 50 favorite dressers. Ugh, that is a lot of dressers to look through. When I finally found the ferris wheel one, it said source: Pinterest. The dreaded closed Pinterest Loop. I spent a lot of time trying to track down the original person who did this project but I didn't have any luck. Then I thought about the dresser in my garage and inspiration struck. Maybe I could try to recreate the ferris wheel dresser. Sounds easy right? Oh my... First, I had to track down the ferris wheel and I finally found it on FramedArt.com and it is by Gail Peck. **TIP** I think I found out later I could have gotten for cheaper at Hobby Lobby.
Before I ordered the poster, I compared the measurements of the poster and the size of the dresser and they seemed like they might work out. But I really didn't know until I cut the final pieces on how it would look finished. My dresser wasn't the ideal dresser for this project but since I had it, I was determined to make it work. Here the dresser is in my garage. I have to say cutting up a brand new poster that wasn't cheap was maybe the hardest part of this project.
I cleaned the dresser thoroughly and began painting. You should sand first, to rough up the surface. I used several types of chalk paint. First, I tried Gray with a hint of blue in it. Nope. Then I tried Blue with a hint of gray in it. Nope. The inspiration picture on Pinterest looked Turquoise Blue so I tried that. Nope. All clashed with the poster.


I used Home Depot's color matching app to identify some colors in the poster but I didn't trust it enough in the end. I brought the poster to Home Depot and we (the paint person and I) selected two areas and color matched to those areas. A cream and a blue green color.
I wish I had done that right away.
I removed the handles and I am not sure if I want these back on or not. I am afraid they are too big and busy for the poster. I completely painted the drawer front because past experience has taught me that I will regret it, if I think I can cut corners with painting.
I started with the top drawer and laid the poster down face down and penciled in the cut marks.
I used a rotary cutter, mat and guide to get a smooth cut.


Since it didn't cover the whole drawer, I played around with the positioning, making sure to try to get it in the middle of the drawer front. Once I was confident on the placement, I got the Mod Podge.
I used a foam paint brush and coated the drawer front with Mod Podge.
I put the picture on top of the Mod Podged drawer front. Then I painted Mod Podge on top of the picture. I really was stressing about those air bubbles and then as it dried they disappeared.
I placed the next drawer close to the first so that I would get the placement correct.
The first three went pretty smoothly but then I realized that the bottom two drawers were a different size and there was a jump in between the bottom and the top drawers.
So, I put the drawers in the dresser to apply the bottom pieces. Applying the Mod Podge while the dresser was upright was a nightmare. So for the bottom drawer, I laid the dresser down and that worked much better.
I cut the final pieces.
I have them setting in place here but not attached yet. I am not sure about the strip on the very bottom. I ended up putting on the bottom strip but now I am not sure it belongs there. Leave it or paint over it?
I am really pleased with how it turned out. And all those bubbles that I stressed about, disappeared after it had dried out in the sun. I have the handles soaking but I am not sure if I will put those back on. I almost think the handles should be more subtle so they don't compete with the ferris wheel. What kind of handles do you think would look good on this piece?


When you select a dresser, it is very important that your drawers are flush and in alignment if you want the picture to look perfect. It wasn't until I was finished that I realized the top three drawers are recessed back 1 to 2 inches from the 2 bottom drawers. This does affect how the picture appears but I am perfectly fine with it.


Thoughts on putting a poster on a dresser? Not as easy as I thought it would be. Try to use a dresser with uniform flat front drawers that are all the same size. It just make the process easier. My dresser drawers had beveling around the edges. A flat front would have been less challenging. Don’t Mod Podge in the hot sun. It dries super quick and can be hard to complete the process as quickly as you need to. Humidity, I think might be your friend, in getting rid of bubbles.


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  • Judy Pulscher Judy Pulscher on Aug 16, 2018

    That is just absolutely gorgeous. I like the idea of coin knobs, would be nice if you could get by without any hardware, any chance you could groove out pulls underneath edge of drawers for invisible handles?

  • Kelly J. Tinney Kelly J. Tinney on Jun 20, 2020

    Did the air bubbles come out or did you smooth the pattern out? I noticed a bunch in the pictures.

  • K K on Jul 04, 2021

    I'm trying to figure out how to do something similar on a dress. Your project is so helpful! I want to use a poster, as well, but all the posters that I can find for the theme I want seem to be glossy posters. Was your poster glossy, or more satin/matte?

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  • Elke Kallicragas Elke Kallicragas on Jun 22, 2021

    So creative...what a great idea!! Good job holding on to that dresser that long. That sounds like me!! hehe. I agree, since you asked(!) the bottom strip isn't necessary. I liked the other comment about brass pulls for the color at least.

    You have such a creative eye, I'm sure you will find a great pull for this dresser.

    Great job!!!!

  • Tam Tam on Jun 25, 2021

    GENIUS!!

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