I found this great dresser for free and it's been sitting in all it's ugly, unfinished glory in my entryway for far too long! I've been ogling at all the beautiful living rooms and distressed furniture on Pinterest for a long time trying to make up my mind about the color theme I want to go with in this room. I don't think anyone in my life would consider me to be a Type A personality but when it comes to DIY and craft projects I just want them to be perfect. I want them to be perfect so bad that I just won't do it all together for the fear of it not turning out well. Well, this dresser was the perfect project for me for several reasons. 1) Distressed isn't supposed to look perfect! 2) Because I'm not so focused on perfecting every little detail it went SO fast (very important with two toddler boys). 3) This piece doesn't have a lot of detail so there weren't a ton of crevices to sand and paint.
Anyway, onto what I did! I apologize ahead of time for not taking more pictures along the way. I didn't know I'd be starting a blog so I'll keep that in mind for future projects.
What You'll Need:
Quart of paint depending on how big of a project
2 brushes
Wood filler if you have any major scratches or dents
150 grit sandpaper
Electric Sander (if you can get one)
Medium grit sanding block
1 (maybe 2) cans of clear sealer
Hardware
I purchased Valspar's Turquoise Tint in an eggshell finish. I got a quart but probably could've gotten away with their sample size and saved $10! I like to try to play it safe so I don't have to run back to the hardware store. I also invested in nicer brushes. Every blog I've read about refinishing seems to say that. I got a 3 pack of 2" brushes, 1 no angle and 2 at slightly different angles. I only used one angled and the flat one.
1. I took all the drawers out and took off the door and all it's hardware. I then sanded all the wood that would be seen. Why bother doing the inside? I used an electric hand sander with 150 grit sandpaper. If you don't have an electric sander, get one! Look at yard sales or craigslist. Borrow one if you have to! That alone probably saved me an hour or two. I sanded just enough to rough it up a bit. Wipe off the dust with a cloth. I highly recommend a microfiber cloth cause it really grabs the dust. (note: always wear a mask when sanding and painting!)
2. Next I filled some spots with wood filler. I just used Elmer's and it dries within 15 minutes. I liked that there are some dings and marks but whoever had this before me used some kind of router tool and made these big circle grooves around some of the hardware holes. You can still see them a little on the finished product but it's definitely much better. My hubby put it on for me and I think he just used his finger to squish it into the grooves. After it dries, sand it down to be smooth with the rest of the wood then wipe off the dust again.
3. I started painting! I used the angled brush and lightly dipped it in the paint then brushed it from left to right only. (The further in I got with painting the less precise I was with the left to right motion. I'd get the paint on then I'd focus on the motion for the final finish.) I continued to pull the paint thinner from left to right until it covered almost the whole drawer front. Sometimes I had to dip it again but only ever so slightly. After I got the coverage I wanted, I then used the flat brush to pull it even thinner and define the brush strokes. I'd have some paint goop up around some of the edges so I just used a brush to wipe it off then stroked in the direction I wanted my brush strokes to go.
Here are the drawers right after I painted them. It's hard to see the strokes. Again, I would've taken better pictures if I knew I was going to be doing this!
Here is a picture of the side of the dresser to see the brush strokes a little better:
I let my pieces sit in the garage over night. (Really, it ended up being a couple of nights) I didn't have anymore time (baby woke from his nap) but I'm happy I let them sit and really dry well.
4. Let the distressing begin! I used a 3M medium grit sanding block.
I just sanded and wore the corners and edges to what I thought looked nice. I also quickly and lightly went over the whole surface to just smooth it out. Wipe off the dust.
5. After distressing it I used a Valspar clear sealer in a satin finish.
I must say, follow the directions on the can! It seems so simple, right? Well sometimes I just dance to the beat of my own drum and it doesn't work out all that well. Keep the spray 8-10 inches from the surface or else you will have streaks. I did fine on the drawers but when I did the top it was drying so quickly that I wasn't sure it was getting on it so I got a lot closer. I ended up having to sand off the top layer to get rid of the streaks and re-spray. I had to use two cans and make an extra trip to the hardware store because of my mistake. Don't waste your time. :-)
6. Hardware! I love the glass looking knobs but I also didn't want to break the bank cause they're anywhere from $4 and up. I found these acrylic knobs at Lowe's for $3.97 and decided not to use them on all the drawers.
I went with a cheaper nickel knob for the lower drawers that were about $1.77 each. That saved me a ton! And I just reused the hinges that were already on the door.
I'm SO happy with how it turned out! I spend probably a total of about 4 hours on it. Not too shabby! I finally have some color in my new living room!
I hope this is helpful for any distressing projects you want to do! Thanks for taking the time to read it!
Love, Whitney <3
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