Monday, November 2, 2009

Dresser Refinish

My in-laws are building a house.
Not just any house - a 10,000 square foot, amazing, gorgeous, perfect-in-every-way house.
We don't even get along all that well, and I totally want to move in ;)
I'm kidding.  Mostly.

Anyway, they'll need a lot of furniture to fill the place up.  So a month or so ago I asked my mother in law if there was anything in particular she was looking for.  She mentioned a few things, one of which was a dresser.
I love refinishing dressers, so I started looking for one right away.  I found this highboy style monster at a local thrift store, marked down from $75 to $40.


I had it loaded into the back of my truck and hauled it home.  Then I proceeded to wrestle it out all by myself.  It almost killed me, but I managed to get it set up and start working on it before the hubs even got home from work that night.
:)

The top drawer on this thing was obviously not original.  It was well built, but the molding didn't match and the hardware was different...I decided to take it out.


This dresser is OLD.
When I removed the drawers and cleaned out the inside I found some tickets to a local amusement park from back when you paid for each ride with individual tickets instead of buying a park admission.  I can't find an exact date, but the style of ticket looks like it's from the 60's, maybe?
It had a serious thrift store stench to it, too.  I scrubbed at it for quite a while and used some lysol on it, too.
Then I started sanding.


The piece is solid wood and in pretty good condition, so I decided to stain the top.


I used a mixture of stains, as I'm apt to do. A coat of American Walnut and then 2 coats of Mahogany.  It turned out delicious.


The body I painted heirloom white (spraying a good base coat, then brushing on a Behr paint to finish.)


I decided to add an open shelf where the top drawer would be.  A couple of baskets can fit there, and I love that look.  I purchased 3/4 inch MDF and asked the hubs the cut it for me.  He's better at funny stuff like notching, and cut it so it fit nice and snug.  To install it, I used my favorite adhesive, Quick Grip, and clamped it to dry.




Later, I added some molding so it looked nice and finished.


I'm still deciding what I'll buy to put on the top shelf, but the work is DONE - finally :)


This one took me almost 3 weeks.  I was slow.
But now I have a great Christmas gift for my MIL!

(no worries, it will still be a surprise! None of my family reads this!)

Here she is, all staged!
(wish I could get a better picture! I'm trying!)




And one more shot of the yummy wood finish on top :)


Posting to link up with Kimba's DIY Day at ASPTL!
and It's So Very Cheri's Knock Off Knock Out :)

71 comments:

From the Old InkWell said...

WOW ! it is beautiful. Looks brand new!

Anonymous said...

Lovely...she will love it!

Katie said...

Fantastic redo!! I love that you stained the top. It's so unexpected for this style piece and looks great!

Anonymous said...

You did such a good job on this - it looks like new! Love the combination of paint and stain too.

pk @ Room Remix

Traci@ Beneath My Heart said...

Beautiful! Great job!

Kim @ NewlyWoodwards said...

The top is AWESOME. So pretty. Love the white with the wood top. We have an antique desk that is the same pretty cherry color. I want to refinish and paint the base SO BAD but hubby has vetoed... for now.

Love love love it. I'm sure MIL will, too.

Sherri said...

Wow! Love the top and then the white to contrast. AWESOME job! She will LOVE it.

Liz said...

Awesome redo.You have much more patience than I do. The finished product looks amazing.Thanks for making me feel inadequate!!! ;)

Anonymous said...

That's just fabulous!!!

Jessica @ My Quarter Life Crisis said...

looks amazing!!

Wendy said...

Love it! You did a great job! Ooh, I am all over removing the top drawer and doing baskets. Thanks for sharing this.

KellyH said...

You did an awesome job refinishing this dresser. looks great.

Kristy said...

I love it - great job! I, too, like the look of an open shelf, so I'm glad to see how you made that work.

Baskets, as you mentioned, are a great way to fill the space, but I think a nice stack of books or magazines would work too!

Its So Very Cheri said...

This looks great--can I get you to do my link as well.

Thanks
Cheri

cindy said...

Great makeover! Loving that two-toned look right now. Fabulous :o)

Lucrecia said...

I am loving the stained top and painted bottom! I want to try it with a dresser I have. One day...

Your MIL will be thrilled!

Heather Henderson said...

you did such a great job! I'm sure she will be thrilled Christmas morning.

Jenny said...

I love it! You are so nice to spend that amount of time on something for someone you don't get along with that much.

Seriously, you won't find me doing anything like that for my in-laws :)

Delightful Dwelling said...

It looks gorgeous! I love the dark top with the white paint on the rest.

Sarah @ Hennessey House said...

wow, VERY well done! i'm currently staining a few dressers and am loving/hating it :) hopefully my pieces turn out as awesome as your dresser!

Jill@Barnes Yard said...

I just cannot believe that is the same dresser! I love it...especially with the wood top! So cute!!
-Jill

Mad in Crafts said...

LOVE those original drawer pulls! Great work!

Ashley @ AshleysBusy said...

That dresser is fabulous, love how you left an open shelf!

Jennifer Juniper said...

The wood/white combo is really rich looking! You did a great job :)

Tiffany said...

Great job transforming that piece of furniture into a true treasure! I am sure your MIL will love it! Nice job!

Vanessa said...

Looks soooo good! Aren't you secretly wanting to keep it now? : )

Amanda @ Serenity Now said...

LOVE the "after" here. :) I like it with that top drawer out!

Just wanted to stop by and let you know that the November Decorating Dilemmas Party goes up tonight at 10 pm (ET) and will be up all day tomorrow. There will be another Giveaway for participants too. :) Hope you can stop by again!

Kate said...

Love it! Great job!

traci in virginia said...

What a wonderful and thoughtful gift! Wish I was related to you :)

Heidi @ Wonder Woman Wannabe said...

Looks GORG! Amazing what a little TLC will do. The top finish looks so great! Maybe you could put in a basket or two to slide in the top drawer space like the image link below:

http://www.riegsecker.com/catalog/popup_image.php?pID=6597

Thanks for taking the time to leave such a sweet comment at Wonder Woman Wannabe!

Maureen said...

Lucky MIL! You did a fabulous job.

Laurel @ Ducks in a Row said...

That stain is so beautiful - I love the combination of white and stain!

Unknown said...

You amaze me. This is beautiful!!! I so want to refinish some of the furniture in my house but I'm a scaredy cat! lol

Anonymous said...

Awesome transformation!

Annette said...

It looks fantastic! Excellent job!

Tammy@InStitches said...

It looks really good. My project this week was the opposite.... I did a chest that mother in law gave me.

Miss Mustard Seed said...

It looks fantastic! You know I love dark topped furniture with a white base. Practical and beautiful! That dresser has a great shape and you really did it justice.

Lynette said...

Wow! She is going to love this. I can't wait to see it in the new house-I can't wait to see the new house period!

HouseMama said...

Your m-in-law is very fortunate to have a d-in-law like you who would put so much time and effort into a gift. It is gorgeous!!!

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