Easy Mod Dresser Makeover

I frequent the local thrift shops in our neighborhood looking for small pieces of furniture that I can restore and find home for, or resell for a few extra $$. Last week I found this beauty-a real stunna right? Yeah...not so much. But the lines were great and the price was right- $19.99 + 20% off! That girl was mine:)

First, I gave whole piece a good scrub down with cleaner and removed all the old hardware. There were a few scratches and holes from the old handles that needed filling so I used some wood filler and sand paper to smooth them out.

There was a slight glossy finish, so I only had to give it a light sanding.

I broke out my standard Benjamin Moore All-Purpose Primer and applied two VERY light coats with a 4 inch sponge roller and a 2 inch sponge brush. I made sure there were no drippies and that the coats were completely dry before applying the next one.

I choose Behr's Rain Washed in a semi-gloss finish for the main color. I was debating over using a semi-gloss or high gloss so I went to the experts- Sherry and John Petersik from Young House Love. If you are not familiar with this couple- they are like the Brad and Angelina of the DIY blog world. I emailed them asking what finish they would recommend for my dresser and they wrote back, "For furniture we like semi-gloss so it's wipeable and holds up really well!"

I applied two coats with a fresh 4 inch sponge roller and sponge brush. I prefer the sponges over a brush to prevent any brush strokes from showing once it dries. And honestly, its just faster!

After letting her dry, it was time to get the drawer handles marked and prepped.

I bought four 10 1/4" stainless steel bar pulls from Home Depot for $10.47 each. You can buy them online here. They were a little pricey when you add them all up, but I loved the look and decided to go for it anyway.

The best way to make your dots on the drawer fronts for handles is to create a template so all the markings will be the exact same.

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to do that:

1. Trace your drawer (face down) on a piece of paper or cardboard then cut it out

2. Mark a vertical line down the middle indicating the center of the drawers width

3. Mark a horizontal line indicating the center of the drawers height

4. Measure the length of the handle you choose (length between the screws- not the full length of the pull)

5. From the center where your two lines from Step 2 & 3 make an X, measure and mark where your pull screws should be (the center would be at the X and the marks will be on the horizontal line) 

Now you have made an easy template for your pulls!

I used this to guide to tap in a nail mark at the places where I needed to drill the hole for the screw. Then I used my 1/8 inch drill bit to make the proper holes.

The final step was to screw in the pulls!

From yucky pinky black to gorgie mod blue in about 4 hours!

XOXO Katie

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