My Favorite Dresser

Dresser Before

Dresser After

This is probably my favorite dresser so far that I've done. It was a sad, old dresser which I found in the basement of an estate sale in Eastpointe. It was buried under old LPs, grade school photos, contact paper and various cans of bug spray. I spotted this piece and knew I had to have it. It had great potential but boy, was it a mess!

After the young man helped me load the dresser into the van, I got it home and assessed it. The drawers were filled with memories of a man who'd gone to a school in Detroit; report cards, school photos, a pink pearl eraser, pencils, torn photographs of kids in baseball uniforms and old utility bills from 1970. This wasn't just a dresser. It had been a part of someone's life. This dresser was just crying out, make me beautiful!

Dresser Top Before

Dresser Top After

I wanted to paint the dresser (as opposed to staining it) because the wood, while sturdy and in good shape, was a bit rough. There was

Special Dresser Gets A Makeover

Dresser Before

Dresser After

This dresser belonged to my friend's mother who passed away in 2008. My friend had to put it in a storage unit after her brother passed away last October. She needed to empty the storage unit and asked if I was interested in this dresser. "Of course!" I told her. I liked the retro design and style of this piece, so I brought it home and began sanding it with the intention of staining it a shade or two darker.

Unfortunately, the wood wouldn't accept the stain and the piece got severely discolored. Before adding more stain and making it worse, I quit while I was ahead and made the executive decision to paint it instead. As much as I prefer staining to paint, at times it's the best solution, as it proved to be with this dresser. I chose semi-gloss white and after priming, I got busy painting it bright white. It was a good fit because it gave this old 1950's style dresser a fresh, clean and brand new appearance. I decided to have fun with it and add colorful polka dot knobs. The transformation was complete and the dresser was now a usable, yet smaller scale piece of furniture that functions well.

Dresser After

Antique Dresser Painted Black

Dresser Before Paint

I picked up this sad-looking dresser at a garage sale on the street I used to live on twenty years ago, right here in St. Clair Shores. It was smothered with kid's toys and dishes in the corner of their garage. I knew it was a buried treasure, so I asked the owners if they could pull it out for me. It was a little scary looking but I'm not that easily intimidated by old furniture. The scarier it looks, the better it turns out!) Bring it on! I had a vision and it was to be another black dresser with white knobs. So I bought it and had two young men load it into the back of the mini-van.

First thing was to take photos. The next step was to replace the sides as they had water damage and were deteriorating, but otherwise, this old piece was in amazingly good condition. After the repairs, Jim sanded the entire thing down to bare wood and primed, then painted it. Black was a great choice! Isn't it amazing what a little elbow grease and paint can do?

Here's another terrific dresser that needed paint and love: http://finalefurniture.blogspot.com/2013/08/petite-old-dresser-goes-modern.html

Dresser After Paint