Dresser Makeover Reveal

Yesterday I told you about my IKEA dresser makeover. Well after the rainstorm, I was able to get a nice coat of paint on it and all the drawer fronts. Although there was a fly in the ointment… literally. I was spraying in the evening and these little pesky gnats were all over the lawn. The dresser was fine but all the low lying drawer fronts were under attack! A gnat would land, stick, and then slowly crawl for an inch or two before it gave up and died leaving a little groove in my paint.

I moved the drawers inside, picked off the bug guts, and gave a quick spray to fill in the gnat body trails. By the next day, everything looked lovely. Absolutely no signs of the sticky gnat massacre.

photoI bought these silver knobs at Target and two sets of monkey knot knobs from Mystic Knotwork. I think they are the cutest and the fact they are from Mystic makes them even more special. Mystic, Connecticut holds a special place in my heart as the site of my college roommates and my Christmas trips. With some of us in Connecticut and some of us in Massachusetts, Mystic was a perfect mid point and the cutest little fishing village for shopping and catching up and reminiscing about the good old days. If you’ve ever seen Mystic Pizza with Julia Roberts, you’d get a sense of the town. In fact, we’d always eat at Mystic Pizza during our little reunion weekends.

photo (1)So the knobs were put on and my dresser makeover was complete. It fits perfectly in our light and airy bedroom. I can’t wait to start filling it and accessorizing the top.

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Not too shabby for a couple cans of spray paint and 12 knobs!

before and after


Snappy Dresser

Do people still call stylish people “snappy dressers”? Probably not but hey, I’m no fashion blogger.

So as anyone who has moved knows, furniture can take a beating. I’ve moved a couple pieces from Massachusetts to Connecticut to Virginia and now back to Massachusetts and boy are my arms tired! (Bud-um ching!) So I wanted to give my dresser a little makeover.

The dresser is the Hemnes 6-drawer black-brown chest from IKEA shown below.

6a00d834de455f53ef00e54f8055a68833-800wiIt’s a great dresser. Big, bold, plenty of space. But it’s taken a beating in the moves and it just doesn’t go with our new light and beachy master bedroom. So in comes the makeover team… aka me.

I removed all the drawers and took the drawer fronts off. This is where I love IKEA. Since they get assembled, they are just as easy to un-assemble.

IMG_1193Then they get ruffed up a bit with a mild grit sandpaper. I read that this isn’t necessary for IKEA pieces since they don’t have that shiny finish that most fine furniture pieces have but it can’t hurt!

IMG_1192Next comes primer. I used the KILZ primer we’ve been using for the walls and trim just because it was readily available.

IMG_1195The spray paint I chose was Rust-Oleum Universal Paint & Primer in one in Satin White. I’ve just had so much luck with Rust-Oleum. I love the way it sprays in a fanned line, the coverage, the color, everything. So I sprayed a side and the top and… first can down. It took 2 cans to cover the dresser and I hadn’t started on the drawers yet.

The dresser looked gorgeous though. Great coverage and the sheen is beautiful. It really looks professionally sprayed. Just a couple notes- it really is important to prime. You’ll go through far more cans if you leave a dark base. Also, the fumes are intense. Definitely spray outside when doing a large piece like this. And to get an even coat with no drips, keep your can moving! Back and forth, back and forth, just keep it steady and moving.

So with both my cans empty, I made a beeline for Home Depot. Just as I pulled in, the skies opened up and a light shower came down. I called Jared in a panic to cover my furniture out in the backyard and it started raining just as I came home. Luckily, the hubs saved the day.

IMG_1200I’ll have the big dresser makeover reveal for you tomorrow! Don’t miss it!