Monday, September 15, 2014

MCM Dresser Makeover

My husband found this dresser on the side of the road for me.
What a dirty beast! I really don't understand this yellow color that was popular back in the day. It is not a good look.

Being that it is a mid century modern piece, I chose to do what everyone else does--paint it white with contrasting wood tones. I've done it before on this table. Funny enough, I also got it for free. 

I sanded down all the drawers and stained them with AS dark wax. I painted the rest of the piece with three coats of white homemade chalk paint, distressed slightly and waxed with Minwax Finishing Paste.
I almost didn't get the knobs off--the screws were stripping as I tried to remove them. I used some kind of grease in a can that my husband had in the garage and banged on them with the end of my screw driver to loosen them up. 

Each knob had two screws so it took a little while, but I got them off and replaced them with brand new screws. They were $.11 each at True Value. I am lucky I have a True Value that is pretty close to my house because they have a huge selection of screws there. I naturally assume Home Depot or Lowes will have everything I need, but they actually don't.

I gave the knobs and the metal strips on the bottom sides a covering of antique gold Rub 'n Buff to have them match. I didn't even notice those strips at first.
I had to take a few quick pictures before we loaded it up as it was threatening to rain and the consignment store was about to close.
I am very happy to have it out of my garage as it was a very large piece, but I was worried it was going to get marked up. My husband was staining a dresser red right next to it. Thankfully he didn't splatter on it.

Linking to:
DIY Showoff | Silver Pennies | Twelve-O-Eight | Brepurposed Creatively Living | Craft-O-Maniac | I Should Be Mopping The Floor | Homecoming | The Dedicated House | Coastal Charm | A Stroll Through Life | Love Grows Wild | Table For Seven | Kammy's Korner | VMG206 | Not Just A Housewife | Sugar Bee Crafts | Mabey She Made It | The Winthrop Chronicles | Elizabeth & Co. | The DIY Dreamer | Power of Paint | Home Stories Z to Z | Art Is Beauty | Savvy Southern Style | Fluster Buster | Polka Dots On Parade | The Real Housewives of Riverton | The Happy Housie | My Repurposed Life | Nap Time Is My Time | Lamberts Lately | I Gotta Create | Domestic Superhero | Living Well Spending Less | My Repurposed Life | Just Between Friends | Redoux Interiors | The Thrifty Groove | Liz Marie | Miss Mustard Seed | The Pin Junkie | Craft Dictator | Crafty Allie | Lovely Crafty Home | Remodelaholic | Today's Creative Blog | DIY Vintage Chic | Funky Junk Interiors | Too Much Time On My Hands 

21 comments:

  1. Great save, you gave poor old mid century piece a new life. The dresser sure looks good now. What a complete difference. Is mid century popular where you live? I love the older stuff, would love to find an empire dresser myself to redo but haven't seen any in this area at all. We live west of Grand Junction, CO. Don't have much experience rehabbing furniture so I take my time. My hubs is good at lots of things but it's getting him to do those lots of things, lol Happy week

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    1. Thank you! I am in PA and have found a few mid century pieces in the trash--so I guess not popular? Although they did sell when I painted them. My hubs loves doing DIY. Right now he is building and painting new wood shutters for our house to replace those awful plastic ones. We have to fight for space in the garage to work :)

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  2. Wow! This looks absolutely fabby! Nice job! Just stopping by from the Coastal Charm link up! Kyla @ http://houseofhipsters.com/

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  3. What a beautiful transformation! I love the shape of it.

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    1. Thank you! The smooth drawers were perfect for sanding down to stain. I love how they curve on the top.

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  4. this two tone gets me everytime! I'd love for you to come share it at Outside {the Box} http://www.carissamiss.com/2014/09/outside-box-link-party-no-2.html

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  5. What a husband! Mine would never see the potential... lol. Love what you did with it. Thanks for linking up with us at The DIY'ers!

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    1. Thank you. My husband took a little while to convince, but now he knows and has even done a few pieces himself! We call ourselves "Team Awesome" ;)

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  6. Great job, I would put that to my home any time! :-)

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  7. What a lovely transformation. You both have vision and is shows. Love the rich warm color.

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    1. Thank you! With the before, I think anything would have been an improvement, but when I saw those smooth drawers I knew they would be perfect sanded and stained.

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  8. What a beautiful transformation - definitely a piece that needed to be saved!

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  9. I love this! I'm featuring it today at Mabey She Made It. Thanks for linking up!

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  10. What a score!!! I would love to find this dresser somewhere. You made it beautiful again! Thank you for sharing at The Handmade Hangout. I am sharing at Redouxinteriors tonight :)

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