Dressers are no longer just for the bedroom! With a boom in salvaging older pieces of furniture, old dressers have been reinvented as storage for any space and any room.
When I found this incredible walnut dresser on Kijiji last year I knew that I had finally found the piece that I had been searching for. I had been looking for a large, long, solid piece that would fit into the space that I use for painting at the end of my kitchen. The mid-century dresser was in pretty rough shape, full of cobwebs, chipped veneer and quite dated, but I knew that it was perfect for what I needed!
I set to work removing all of the old hardware (they looked like airplane wings!) and gave it a good cleaning. I decided to use Coco Chalk paint from Annie Sloan on this piece and chose Coco as it blended well with my Kitchen and the flooring.
Once I had the dresser painted and lightly distressed, I filled the holes from the old hardware (just on the large drawers) and sanded them down once dry. I would normally do this before painting but couldn’t decide on hardware for this piece so left it until after. Once I had decided on the new hardware, I taped the drawers and marked where the new holes needed to go. I always use a strip of painters tape so that I can level and mark the holes before drilling. Painters tape not only removes easily but allows me to make sure that the holes are in the perfect space before drilling.
I wanted to add a little bit of character to the piece but didn’t want it to stand out too much so added little wrought iron birds down the centre and larger, simpler handles on the sides. I gave the birds a little paint job and distressed them to give them an aged look. The long handles I left as is because they reminded me of twigs and branches. 🙂
I am so thrilled with this piece as it turned out just as I had imagined and is exactly what I had wanted to store all of my miscellaneous supplies, books and brushed in.
Have you used a dresser in an unconventional way? I’d love to hear about it and see some pictures!
I set to work removing all of the old hardware (they looked like airplane wings!) and gave it a good cleaning. I decided to use Coco Chalk paint from Annie Sloan on this piece and chose Coco as it blended well with my Kitchen and the flooring.
Once I had the dresser painted and lightly distressed, I filled the holes from the old hardware (just on the large drawers) and sanded them down once dry. I would normally do this before painting but couldn’t decide on hardware for this piece so left it until after. Once I had decided on the new hardware, I taped the drawers and marked where the new holes needed to go. I always use a strip of painters tape so that I can level and mark the holes before drilling. Painters tape not only removes easily but allows me to make sure that the holes are in the perfect space before drilling.
I wanted to add a little bit of character to the piece but didn’t want it to stand out too much so added little wrought iron birds down the centre and larger, simpler handles on the sides. I gave the birds a little paint job and distressed them to give them an aged look. The long handles I left as is because they reminded me of twigs and branches. 🙂
I am so thrilled with this piece as it turned out just as I had imagined and is exactly what I had wanted to store all of my miscellaneous supplies, books and brushed in.
Have you used a dresser in an unconventional way? I’d love to hear about it and see some pictures!Linked to:
{A Blossoming Life} {A Bowl Full of Lemons} {Cedar Hill Farmhouse} {Classy Clutter }
{Lil Mrs Tori} {Sand and Sisal} {7 Alive} {The Shabby Nest} {I Heart Naptime}
{Shabby Art Boutique} {Funky Junk Interiors} {The Crowned Goat} {The DIY Dreamer}
{This Silly Girl’s Life} {By Stephanie Lynn} {Huckleberry Love}
{Lil Mrs Tori} {Sand and Sisal} {7 Alive} {The Shabby Nest} {I Heart Naptime}
{Shabby Art Boutique} {Funky Junk Interiors} {The Crowned Goat} {The DIY Dreamer}
{This Silly Girl’s Life} {By Stephanie Lynn} {Huckleberry Love}
It looks terrific, Lisa, but I have to say that I love the old handles. They are classic atomic age design and yes, they were made to look like wings or the Air Force. They go with the curve on the piece and the streamlined design.
Those 50’s-60’s dressers are incredibly well made and will last forever. Painting them really enhances their look.
Thanks Cathy! I definitely agree that they are so well made and so is the hardware. I think the old hardware is really cool looking it just didn’t match my style. I always save the old hardware though in case someone else can use it or I can think of another use for it. They were really interesting looking and I could imagine them on a dresser for a child painted like an airplane and having those for the handles so they were a keeper… just not on that dresser for me 😉
Lisa, another stunning makeover! I've never used coco before but I love ASCP so I definitely want to try it sometime too. Great job on chosing the hardware too, it's perfect. Thanks so much for linking this up to our Something to Talk About Link Party. I look forward to your new peices each week.
Thanks so much! Coco is one of those colours that I have fallen in love with 🙂 As with all AS's colours, it changes depending on the light and has such depth to it. It's such a pretty colour but yet neutral so goes with everything 🙂
lovely dresser! Thanks for inspiring us at Shabbilicious Friday xo
Thanks so much Robin! and thanks for stopping by 🙂
Absolutely beautiful job on the dresser. I have a dresser in my living room as a TV stand and love the look.
Hi, I'm Lisa!
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