Sunday, January 25, 2015

Dresser Makeover

Another furniture makeover? For real??
Yes, internet; this is for real. I made another thing.

And, unbeknownst to me when I first thought about doing this project, this turned out to quite possibly be the most annoying furniture makeover in all of human history. Well, that might be a little of an overstatement, but still. You'll understand why in a moment.

Dresser Makeover

Back in ye olden days of summer 2014, my mother came home from a church thing with this dresser. Another lady at church was going to throw it away and asked my mom if she would like it or not. So she took it home and gave it to me saying "do something with this." (A common theme among all of the furniture in my apartment, it seems.)

Dresser Makeover

This thing was in some major rough shape though, so I can understand why the lady wanted to get rid of it. Half the drawers didn't have knobs, the drawers themselves were really tight-fitting, one of the legs was broken, and overall it just smelled like the color brown (Tangled reference, anyone?).

Dresser Makeover

But, being the sap that I am, I could see the potential in this one. I couldn't let the poor thing just be sent to the grave... and I def couldn't leave it as is. So I decided to do a major overhaul on it, which turned out to be quite the project.

First off, I primed the piece and I found out along the way that the last time this was stained, it wasn't sealed properly, so this vague red hue kept on bleeding through the primer. Then, as I went to take the remaining knobs off the drawers, I realized that half the holes were completely stripped, so I just had to fill all of the holes and sand them down.
Finally, when I went to paint the piece, the paint warped the drawers even more so that none of the drawers would even fit into the dresser. After lots of sanding and profuse swearing, I finally have a somewhat functional dresser:

Dresser Makeover

And I must say that I feel that the final product is much cuter than where it started. I decided to go with black and my favorite off-white just because I thought it would be crisp and somewhat different. I also got all new handles which I thought about spray painting white to match the top of the dresser. Thoughts?

Dresser Makeover

The drawers still kind of stick, but it got to the point where I just had to say "the hell with it." You know what I'm talking about? Where you work on something for what feels like forever but then good ol' apathy creeps in to save the day? That happens to me allll the tiiiime.

Dresser Makeover

(this is just a picture of a jar of rocks I have because rocks are so important. I love rocks. I will fight you on how great rocks are.)

Dresser Makeover

One day I suppose I'll go back and touch up the paint and do a bit more sanding or something, but for now I'm calling this one done. Aww yeah. It's nice to have something to put my items in again, that's for sure.

So has anyone else had to suffer through a project like this one? I'd love to hear/read your stories!

Linkin' up:
x x

26 comments:

  1. Ah. I get the feeling of not being able to get something just right. That is pretty much every sewing project I take on. Right now I'm trying to make a dress, but first I have to fit the pattern. The muslin I made mostly fits now, but I'm tired of making modifications and I'm afraid that I'll end up making things worse. So I'm just going to make the dress and hope it turns out okay.

    Your dresser turned out looking pretty nice! When I first saw the photo, I thought the handles were white as well, and if you want, you could make it all black-and-white.

    p.s. No need to fight me on rocks because rocks are amazing. Rocks. Deserves its own sentence.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oooh girl, I know exactly what you mean. I'm drafting a dress from scratch right now too and fitting things is just so frustrating. I hop that your dress turns out nicely though!

      And I think I might take your advice about the handles.

      Also yes. Rocks. I'm glad you see the importance!!

      Delete
  2. I know the feeling, but the piece looks really great if that helps! I have a chest right now that I thought my husband fixed, but nope, every time I try to shut it I have to push and push and then little wood shivers show up in the drawer beneath it. LOL I'd love for you to share this post at Totally Terrific Tuesday. The party is going on now!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh my gosh that sounds equally frustrating! I'll be sure to stop over!

      Delete
  3. You did a beautiful makeover in this.....love it! Brought it into this century!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Beautiful redesign. Love it and thanks for sharing.
    CM

    ReplyDelete
  5. This looks absolutely amazing!! Thanks for posting.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love the look and the feel of this piece in your space. .......and hell yeah I have been there and done that and did the exact same thing you did! I cringe when I see a piece that I know has so much potential but then I think about all the work I would have to put into it and say....I'll leave that for the next sucka!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha I hear ya girl! I'm glad you understand the struggle!

      Delete
  7. Since you asked for opinions, I would paint the handles.
    As far as the sticking drawers, did you know you can put furniture wax on the glides - if they are wood, which I would think they are with this gorgeous antique!
    I just love free stuff - especially when you make it beautiful all over again! Great job!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for the advice!! I really appreciate it! I think I'm going to have to paint those handles white.

      Delete
  8. Super Cute!! I would love for you to share your stuff on My 2 Favorite Things on Thursday-Link Party that starts tomorrow!! I would love to have you!! http://www.cookinandcraftin.com/my-2-favorite-things-on-thursday-link-party-6/

    ReplyDelete
  9. I would have given up long before you did. It looks great. I love black and silver but I'm not sure it's working with the white as well as it could. It needs something...maybe some fine turquoise detail on the silver and the white to unify it all?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, I love your turquoise idea-- that could be really killer.

      Delete
  10. What a sad before photo, and it came out so nice! I love the contrast and the handles you chose. Very modern. Nice job pushing through the gritty part of the job (I feel you) and getting to that great end product!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much! It was quite the.... adventure, but I'm glad it looks like something now haha.

      Delete
  11. Hello beautiful! This looks so amazing. Pinned and tweeted. Thank you for being a part of our party and we hope to see you on Monday at 7 pm. We can't wait to party with you! Happy Valentines' Day! Lou Lou Girls

    ReplyDelete
  12. Beautiful piece and fab makeover! Thank you for sharing. You are one of the features today at The Round-Up from the Before & After Wednesday party at The Dedicated House. Here is the link so you can check out your feature. http://www.thededicatedhouse.com/2015/02/the-round-up-from-before-after-wednesday_18.html Have a beautiful day! Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse

    ReplyDelete
  13. We featured you're awesome project at the Project Stash link party! Thanks for linking up last week and we'd love to have you join us again this week!

    ReplyDelete