The Numbered Drawer Dresser

This is the poor little dresser that could. My mom bought this when I was born at an unfinished furniture store and stained it a dark walnut then sealed it. It stayed this way, being handed down through my siblings until my first daughter was born. I painted it a bright aqua to fit in with her room in my very first apartment. After that it went back to my moms house where it was painted this basic white & was used in her guest room. After re-decorating the guest room she didn't need it any more & gave it back to me so I could refinish it once more then sell it. My boyfriend had already started sanding the top when I remembered to take this picture.

This isn't the greatest shot but it shows the condition it was in before I started the refinishing process (this of course wasn't how it looked when it was used in my mom's guest room, but after it had been sitting in my garage for a LOOONG time). Although I have no need for it at all I feel kind of bad selling it after it's been in the family for so long.

Here it is with it's new finish, I LOVE how it turned out! I had mentioned to several people that I was going to re-paint it & number the drawers & no one seemed to think it was a good idea. In fact, even after showing her similar pictures on line, my best friend tried to talk me out of it. I'm glad I decided to trust my instincts & go with it anyway. The paint is a blend of about 3 different colors I had on hand, the cream is a Color Place (Walmart) paint called Butter Cookie that I also had on hand. I mixed black & beige acrylic paints to get the gray I used on the numbers. The edges were lightly distressed by hand using 80 grit sandpaper & then the whole piece was lightly glazed with Valspar's Mocha. A couple coats of Minwax Polycrylic gave it a good seal & add durability.

I lined the insides of the drawers with a printed kraft paper that had a vintagey (is that a word?) look to it. I actually found this in the gift wrap section at the Dollar Tree! It's perfect for use as drawer liners because its a heavier weight & just gives a fresh look to a vintage piece of furniture.

Here's a closer shot of the numbered drawers. The numbers look like they're graduated in size but it's actually just the angle the picture was taken from.

This one shows the distressing a little better, I think it adds to the vintage style of this dresser. I'm also loving these "crystal" acrylic pulls I got from another Reminisce vendor (Vicky) they're perfect for adding just enough sparkle & only $2.65 ea! You can't beat that price (I've looked)! I mentioned before that everyone I told about my idea for this wasn't convinced, almost every person I told said, "Oh, like for a kids room:?". Which would be fitting, but I think this could also be great in an adults room, or storage in a larger bathroom. It is kinda girly, but I think if balanced out with some more rustic dark woods or maybe even industrial metal accents it could definitely work. What do you think? I'd love some feedback on this.

Im linking up to the following link parties;



Maryann over at Domestically Speaking was nice enough to put me in the Power of Paint Party spotlight! Thanks Maryann ; )