$10 Dresser Makeover

I've never told you about this dresser, have I?

Well, last fall, about a month before Lucy was born, I was out yardsaling and found this beauty for just $10.  I was ecstatic!  We really needed an extra dresser for Lucy's things and this was one was gorgeous, even if it did need a makeover!  It had been well made and was in excellent condition. I adore this style of furniture and ten dollars was a steal!  

Since that time though, it has actually been living in my closet.  Yes, you heard me right. I ended up putting this dresser in my closet for my clothes...it was the perfect size too, with about 2 inches of clearance on either side! I put all of Lucy's things in my dresser that was in our bedroom, stuck a changing pad on top and "voila!", it has been the perfect place for her.

I just love the shape and character of it!  You know what's funny?  Just a few months before I found this dresser, a lady in my mother-in-law's church wanted to sell me an identical one for $200. (!!)

This dresser has served me well living in my closet, but I was getting a little tired of having it in there.  Dresses and skirts were constantly getting stuck in the drawers, etc.  

Then I had an idea!  After checking the depth of the drawers, I decided it would be perfect in the living room to house all the VHS tapes, DVD's and some games.

By the way, look what we found plastered behind one of the dresser drawers. (Not sure how I missed finding that before?!)  A photo developing ad from Eckerd and an old shoulder pad. {shudder}  Why were they ever invented?!  Seriously?! I think I'm scarred for life after having to wear them! =D  And goodness, aren't you thankful we live in the age of digital photography?  I certainly do not miss film!

Last Thursday night we broke out the paint and started to give this dresser a makeover.  We put the kids to bed and had ourselves a little painting party!

Because of the heat wave we've had here recently, we decided to brush paint the dresser instead of spray it.  We used Valspar Exterior semi-gloss paint because a) that's what we had and b) because it holds up really well...and that is super important with four little people around!  Because exterior paint is pretty thick, we added Floetrol to it.  The floetrol works wonders!  It thins the paint out without changing the color and makes the paint dry to a smooth finish.  This is really nice when you are brush painting!  

Honestly, all painting credit goes to my hubby because he did 99% of it!  I had great plans to do most of it, but Lucy was fussy and wasn't sleeping and it just didn't happen.  I think I painted three drawers?? He seriously has some mad painting skills and does an excellent job.  And he's really fast with a brush.  (See, we have this agreement when we paint that he does all the brush work and I use the roller, so I've never used a brush very much!  Hence the reason I'm so slow!)

Here she is!  I am SOOO happy with how it turned out!! (And yes, there is something hiding under the dresser.  Read here to find out.)  

I spray painted the handles with some primer and then top coated them with black spray paint.

 Here's the gallery/entryway wall before.....

And the after!  (Oops...still need to fill in those empty frames!)

Many of you noticed that we had repainted when I showed you my ugly couch hiding under the slipcover.  The color is Urban Sunrise by Valspar.  It is a gorgeous color and we are so happy we repainted!  It is a beautiful gray that has a slightly blue undertone, although it's hard to tell from pictures. This room is pretty tough to photograph...there's always shadows because of our rocking chair front porch and the big trees in the front yard. Oh well!

Do you remember when I found the lampshades for my white lamps at a yard sale?  These are the lamps that came with the shades.  I decided to try them out in the place of the white lamps and I really love it!  I almost got rid of them and I'm so thankful I didn't!

This is what would greet you as you walk in our front door. Want to come over? =)

And this is what my living room really looks like.  It doesn't seem to matter that my kiddos have all their toys in their bedrooms...every day they drag half of them out into the living room!  Gah!  But hey, I can't really complain, I'm thankful they like being all together in the living room.  Even if it does mean my feet may be crippled one day from stepping on too many legos, lol!

Let's take on more look at the before picture of the dresser...

I'd say a little paint and time were worth it!  It was ten dollars well spent!

Switching the desk for the dresser, changing the lamps and repainting had a huge impact in this room! I absolutely love the difference it made!  


Do you have any furniture that needs a makeover?  Just go for it...paint will work wonders!


Sometimes I link up to:  Serenity Now, Raising 4 Princesses, 5 days 5 ways, Today's Creative Blog, Skip to My Lou, Home Stories A to Z, House of Hepworths, 36th Avenue, Kitchen Fun, DIY Dreamer, {Primp}, Sassafras Salvation, Shabby Creek Cottage, Somewhat Simple, Creation Corner, The Shabby Nest, Finding Fabulous, CSI Project, Trendy Treehouse, Uncommon Design, Happy Home, Imparting Grace, Metamorphosis Monday,