Tired of that busted up hunk of wood sitting in your bedroom? Or do you want a NEW dresser but cannot afford to drop some serious cash? Do what I did and refinish an old one!
I wish I would have taken a 'before' picture of this dresser but I was so swamped with other things to do. Anyhow, this dresser used to be yellow with an antique look. It wasn't ugly or looked old, it was just not mine and Justin's style. This is definitely a great project to do with your significant other because it is easy and FUN! And just think, you are giving something 'old' a whole new life!
Step 1: The first step, is to sand the dresser down to create a kind of "grip" for the paint to stick. You do not need to sand the piece until ALL the paint is gone. You just need take a little bit of the paint off to grip the new paint and also, sanding will even the piece out as far as nicks, scratches, etc. go.
Step 2: Before you begin painting, if your dresser has many drawers and if they are somewhat different from each other, you MUST number your drawers, so putting them back will be a breeze.
Step 3: Choose your paint! Sounds simple but there are SO many colors and types of paint that it could take all day if you AND your significant other are deciding on a color together. Luckily, Justin and I just wanted to do black. We used a Semi-Gloss paint which I loved because after it dried it gives the piece a nice shine and even color.
Remember this! When painting, be sure and paint in the SAME direction on the entire piece. That way your piece will not look like a big mess and that you had a toddler paint it for you.
Also, when you are painting do not paint any areas that you will not see because you will just be wasting your time. Think about the areas you will see when opening and closing the drawers and if your dresser will be up against a wall. We only painted the front and sides of the dresser and on the drawers, we only painted the trim.
With the paint we used, it only took about an hour to dry and the only touch ups we had to do were the spots that got nicked while moving.
Step 4: Here was MY favorite part, and that was choosing the pulls for the drawers! The pulls really make the dresser. They completely determine the style of the dresser.
These are the pulls I chose! I purchased them at Home Depot and I was honestly there trying to decide for 45 minutes! Home Depot has the best selection and you can purchase the exact amount you need! Target did not have much to choose from and many of the choices only had one box of like 6 and I needed TWENTY!
When it finally came time to screw the pulls on, the screws were too short, of course! That's my life in a nut shell. If this happens, you have two options. One, find longer screws BUT you have to find the SAME width AND the same size thread which is somewhat difficult and timely. Your other option is to counter-sync the holes. The easiest way to explain this, is Justin just used a drill bit to make the length of the wood thin enough for the screw to fit. After that, just make sure when you are screwing in the screw that they are tight, so you do not have to worry about loose pulls falling off.
Step 5: Put your drawers back in the dresser, reattach your mirror, if you have one, and then, put your clothes in! And viola, you not only saved money but you also saved a dresser's life!
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