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I know you’ve all seen these old dressers being re-purposed into useful things again. I have really seen some ugly duckling dressers turned into beautiful pieces of art! It truly is amazing to me to see some of the before and afters!
I had a client ask me a while back what she should do with her spare bedroom dresser. She wasn’t sure if she should keep it or get rid of it. I asked her at the time why she wanted to get rid of it. She said that the top was ruined from where an oil diffuser had spilled and damaged the finish on the top. Plus, she didn’t know if she wanted it in the room anymore because it was taking up so much space.
She also had one of those ginormous entertainment centers in the living room that they had been trying to get rid of for years. I asked her at the time, “Why don’t you turn your dresser into an entertainment center?” She said she had never thought about that and didn’t know where to start. I promised her that if she got rid of the large existing entertainment center then I would help her convert her dresser into something she would love.
Fast forward a week later, she sold the large entertainment center! Wow, that was fast!
Now it was time for me to come in and work my magic! I am going to take you through the steps you need to take if you want to turn that old, ugly dresser into the perfect entertainment center!
I know you can’t see it good in the picture, but this dresser had yellowed over time. However, that wasn’t an issue because I was going to paint over it anyway. I am going to list below the exact steps to take to turn this yellowed mess into something gorgeous using Dixie Belle Chalk Mineral Paint! And the best part is, no sanding required!
- We took out the top 3 drawers since we wanted to use this as an entertainment center.
- Once the drawers were removed, then we unscrewed the drawer tracks.
- Most dressers will have a backing, ours did. We took the back off so that we would be able to access the back of the drawer casings.
- Next, take a piece of MDF depending on your thickness you need and cut it to fit the opening so that this will now become your shelving where the drawers used to be. We used ½” MDF.
- Paint the board the same color as the body of your dresser and let sit somewhere out of the way to dry.
- This dresser had some damage to the top, so I needed to sand down the area where the spill occurred to smooth it out so our paint would have a smooth finish. I used a medium grit sandpaper to ensure we smoothed out the damage without getting all the way down to the wood grain/veneer.
- Since we are using a chalk-based paint, there is no need to sand the overall piece. If you are using a latex or any other paint NOT chalk based, you need to go over the piece with about 220 grit sand paper to make sure your paint adheres to the wood properly.
- There were also some chips in the existing top that needed to be filled with wood putty. If your dresser requires this, simply squeeze the putty on your finger and mash into the chipped areas and take a putty knife to smooth out the filler. Let dry completely according to instructions on wood filler.
- After dry time has passed, lightly sand with a fine grit sandpaper until smooth.
- Go over the entire dresser with a piece of cheesecloth to remove any left over dust.
- It is imperative that you make sure your piece is thoroughly cleaned. There are several products you can use to do this, but I like to use Krud Kutter.
- Once cleaning all over really well with the Krud Kutter, make sure you completely rinse the cleaner off with water as any leftover residue will cause your paint to lift and not adhere properly.
- Now you are ready for the fun part, Paint!!! This is where the transformation begins.
- If you are using Dixie Bell Chalk mineral paint which I highly recommend, make sure you stir your paint well. Here is a link for Dixie Belle Dropcloth which is a creamy white, it’s beautiful!
- Paint your piece with one coat and let dry.
- Paint tip: Use a continuous water misting bottle as you go along as chalk paint has a tendency to dry quickly. This will also minimize brush strokes in your finish. You always want to paint with a wet edge. I like to use this one from Amazon.
- Once dry, lightly sand with a very fine grit sand paper. I like to use a worn-down sanding sponge that I’ve had for quite a while to smooth out my finish. Depending on the look you want, you may want to distress your piece and if this is the case, I suggest a 220 grit with much more pressure. This was not the look I was going for with this piece.
- Depending on the finish you want, Dixie Belle offers several different choices of finishes. I used clear wax for the body of the dresser and flat top coat for the top of the dresser. You can get the clear wax here: and the top coat here:
- To apply clear wax, take a very small amount of wax and use either a wax brush or lint free cloth to apply the wax in a thin coat.
- Let the wax soak in for about 15-20 minutes, then go back and buff with a lint free cloth.
- To apply the top coat, I used Dixie Belle’s Mini brush https://amzn.to/2T4U6NL and applied a light coat of the flat top coat and let that completely dry. Once dry, I applied another coat to ensure I would have good coverage since the top will be used quite a bit.
Until next time! Loves and hugs!
Melanie
Love it