So my idea for this dresser was to turn it into a TV stand. I LOVE pinterest and I am always coming across pins where they have turned a dresser into a TV stand. My plan is to remove the 1st drawer and turn it into a shelf. I have had an ikea TV stand for the last couple years, I hate the thing but it was what I could afford at the time. So back to the dresser, it sat in my laundry room for about a month while I considered what I was going to do. One night I decided I am going to finally do something with this. I attend college and had to go back in a couple days and I wanted to get it done before then.
Here is what the dresser looked like when purchased....
I started sanding it before I realized, crap I need pictures :). I read a lot of posts about how to paint wood furniture and the prep work that goes with it. So, I went to the store and bought a Sanding Block and some protective eye wear. I took all the drawers out and sanded all the surfaces, enough that when I was finished the piece was no longer shiny.
After sanding I wiped it down with a damp rag to pick up all the sand/dust.
I love dark, masculine, and earthy tones when it comes to paint and furniture. I decided that I was going to paint this dresser black but leave the drawers brown, because I seen a post on pinterest where someone had done that with a buffet and I loved it.
The paint I already had on hand from some shelves I had painted for my office. Its recommended that you use a primer, preferably two coats when painting furniture, to prevent peeling and what not. The paint I had already had a primer included (it was more expensive but worth it).
I painted it in the evening while we were watching a movie. I would paint a coat and come back after a half hour to an hour and paint another coat. I did three coats on this.
I am very impatient and all about instant gratification so after the last coat was pretty much dry I had to put the drawers in to see how it looked....
I wasn't happy with it...I felt like there was not enough black breaking up the brown, so I experimented with one of the drawers, and I chose to paint the raised parts of the drawers, and I did this by using painters tape around the edges before painting. I highly recommend using the tape.
I loved the blocking of the drawers but I still felt like it needed something else, so the strip down the middle of the drawers had to be painted too. Here is my finished product ( well not completely finished, I am still trying to find drawer pulls that I like, as well as there are some repairs needed to the bottom of the drawers)
I absolutely LOVE it and couldn't wait to get it in the living room, but I had to wait and make sure it was completely dry before moving it and putting anything on it. (No instant gratification in that :) ) So here is the final product set up....
I am so in love with the piece and everyone who has seen it, is astounded that not only was it a dresser but that I re-purposed it! And frankly I love to save money, buying something like this in a store would have cost me well over $250 because its real wood. I only paid $29 for the dresser and probably will have another $20 invested in pulls and hardware. Can't beat that deal! Hope you enjoyed my first post, I am working on the end table now so hopefully it will be posted soon!
~Nikki~
