Erin Spain

A Home and DIY Blog

Bold, Modern Dresser Makeover

By 69 Comments

Furniture Redo Bold Dresser Makeover

I posted last week about the dresser that we found on Craigslist and intend to use as a sideboard in our living room/office. As I mentioned before, my husband spends a lot of time in that particular room when he works from home, and he loves modern style with clean lines (like Mad Men). We desperately needed more storage in that room, considering you can hardly see the top of the desk right now due to stacks of papers. I wanted to do something to suit his taste since that is his “man” room, and I also wanted to do something bold and fun. I had so much fun with this dresser makeover.


Here is the dresser before:

This dresser was a steal. I mean, I almost feel guilty, like we should take the guy more money (but that’s not going to happen.) I found it online and sent my husband to pick it up. We purchased it from a college kid who was moving and trying to get rid of it fast. It was probably a hand-me-down from his parents, and it held no value to him. Well I didn’t realize until my husband brought it home that it is vintage Thomasville with dovetail construction, totally solid, very heavy, and definitely way more valuable than what we paid for it. That said, the solid wood was covered in veneer (which was the norm in that time period) and a lot of the finish had faded and become splotchy, etc. So I didn’t feel too guilty painting it.

I absolutely love the lines of this piece, and the original hardware is awesome.

After I decided for sure that I wanted to go bold with this piece, I chose a color and went to town painting it. Unfortunately, when it dried it was way too electric blue for my taste. I painted over it in a blue-gray color, but that was just too drab. Finally, we settled on the perfect blue with a teeny hint of teal: Benjamin Moore’s Summer Nights.

After lightly sanding, priming and painting it (3 times), I then gave the original hardware a coat of primer and some Krylon gold spray paint. Now, when I say this piece of furniture is heavy, I mean, it. is. HEAVY. My husband and I carried it from the garage to the office and it was no easy task. But it’s in its home now and it was well worth the 3 paint colors and heavy lifting! I love it. I realize the color and style may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it is just what we wanted.


Here it is now:

Of course I will be posting more pictures when we get the room put together and decorate a bit more, but for now I wanted to share the finished project with you.

Let me know what you think! I’d love to hear from you.

Linking up to:
Serenity Now: Weekend Bloggy Reading
Tatertots & Jello: Weekend Wrap Up Party
Tip Junkie: Tip Me Tuesday
Miss Mustard Seed: Furniture Feature Friday
 

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Comments

    • Thank you! After painting it 3 times, I decided even if I hated this color, it’s staying!!! Ha. Luckily, I like it much better than the first 2 colors I tried.

      Reply

  3. Love the color and the hardware. Love it all! Kind of what I envisioned for my credenza. You inspired me to keep that option open 🙂

    Reply

  9. You just made my life so much easier! My next to do was to venture out to find “the perfect” shade of blue for my next project and honestly this is it!

    Love it it’s so beautiful.

    Reply

  11. Hi Erin! I love this piece! I just scored two really great nightstands that are about to get a face lift as well. I was wondering if you removed the veneer on these and how much sanding did you do before painting them? Looking at all these great projects I think I’ve found my confidence to tackle the projects I have at home too! ~ Angela 🙂

    Reply

    • Hi Angela! No, I did not removed the veneer. I did very little sanding, just enough to dull the finish a little without damaging the veneer. I then primed and painted, sanding with very fine-grit sandpaper between each coat. Then I opted to wax it (but polyurethane would be fine too.)

      Good luck with your projects!

      Reply

  12. Wow, that is one heck of a make-over! Regardless of the high-quality, I don’t personally care for that look, or that kind of furniture. So you did it some real justice, and made it super sleek and cool. Love the color too. 🙂 Great job!

    Reply

  13. That really is the perfect blue! I want to add pops of blue in our bedroom, but I’m nervous when it comes to painting furniture bold colors. Thanks for the confidence, this really makes the piece pop.

    Reply

  14. This is gorgeous! Absolutely stunning. I love the blue and gold mixture. I’m pinning this to my Furniture Makeovers board!

    I’m a new follower. Can’t wait to see what else you do!

    Reply

  16. This totally jumped off the screen at me when I was scrolling through the link party on Tatertots and Jello. I LOVE the color, and snagging a piece with original hardware that adds to the sculptural aspect of a piece makes it even more fun. I just painted painted a dresser BM’s marine blue, which is slightly darker than Summer Nights but definitely that navy/hint of teal/peacock color. I’m obsessed and want to have pops of navy and gold/brass all over my house. So excited to peruse your blog and see your other work!

    Also, what kind of BM paint did you use?

    Reply

    • Thanks so much for stopping by! I believe it was the Concepts paint that I used in a semi-gloss finish.

      The marine blue was on the list of colors I debated between, and I’d love to use it for a future project! I’m in love with the blue/gold combo right now too.

      Reply

  18. Love what you did! I just bought two dressers (for two different rooms) that I am planning on re-finishing. Love the color blue you chose! Just gorgeous!

    Reply

  25. Hi Erin! I love this piece and the color is gorgeous. This is the one of the colors I am using in my bedroom face lift. Can you tell me what type of paint you used and how you applied it? That would be so helpful as I venture into furniture painting. I have two end tables I picked up at Goodwill for the bedroom and they are waiting to be prettied up!

    Reply

  27. You did what you do best and that’s making things look more beautiful. I love the new color. Poor kid if he only knew what he threw away. 🙂 But it’s alright for it landed in good hands.

    Reply

  28. Wow that’s amazing. I love to compare pictures before and after a makeover. What you made of this old piece is really impressive, looks absolutely stylish.

    Reply

  32. Hello,
    I live in Poland yet I follow your posts and guidelines. Very beautiful choice of colors combination – well done 🙂
    I am in the process of making my first DIY furniture. I use Fluger water based enamels(German) paints and it says to wait 16 hours (!) between painting another layer. Do you also usually wait so long as well before painting the 2nd or 3rd layer ?
    Tnks in adavnce,
    Regards,
    Esther

    Reply

    • Hi Esther! I have never waited that long, no. I typically wait a couple of hours between coats. However, I’m not familiar with the type of paint you are using so it’s probably best that you follow the instructions and wait it out just to be safe. Good luck!

      Reply

  33. I’m getting into veneer cheap yard sale pieces to redecorate just because I’m starting over in life.
    I just found a kitsch looking kitchen cabinet from the 50s that is similar materials to the one you just painted. Did you sand the drawers a bit to make the paint stick ? I’m wondering if that works better and if it makes the finish last longer , and also if I want to add a shine , (I’m going to use a good exterior house paint that happens to be a flat type),could I varnish it after the paint has completely hardened in over 3 weeks ? I live in a high humidity area so those details are important to me.

    Reply

  35. A makeover? You made a vintage dresser into a blue ugly box. Someone should slap you across the face for being an idiot.

    Reply

    • Literally no one asked you. Someone should slap you across the face for being a rude, disrespectful asshole.

      Reply

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