Tuesday, March 15, 2011

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;

Furniture Feature FridaysDomestically SpeakingFunky Junk's Saturday Nite Special

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

Domestically Speaking

14 comments:

  1. what a darling dresser. love the colors chosen, numbers and placements of knobs. nice work!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is so sweet! I love everything you did to it! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. This looks so adorable! I really like how you numbered it as well great transformation.

    ReplyDelete
  4. this is just gorgeous! what a sweet and interesting transformation!

    ReplyDelete
  5. LOVE the transformation. Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  6. good job, very cute (and practical) and pretty, and neat, and the numbers look great !!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh I love how you did the detail on these drawers! I'm also a huge fan of numbers =) I'd love for you to link up to my VIP party today @ http://designergarden.blogspot.com/2011/03/vip-party-7.html

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love everything about it... the blue, the knobs and the numbers. I'm putting it in the PoPP Spotlight. Thanks for linking up.

    ReplyDelete
  9. this is adorable! i love the knobs you used and the color combo!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Found your link on Miss Mustard Seed... & how awesome is this dresser? And, what is even more awesome is what YOU did with it!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Your dresser looks perfect! I love the numbers and the colors you chose!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hello

    I wanted to let you know i have featured your tutorial to my blog for my top "Numbered" Projects of 2011
    i love your project great job and i wanted to share with my readers

    http://ourlittlenestonthelake.blogspot.com/2012/01/my-2011-top-ten-diy-numbered-furniture.html


    happy new year

    Lorena

    ReplyDelete
  13. Great all furniture decorating, thank you, See also more and compare for best prices deals for Home Furniture here!

    ReplyDelete