Making Over a Thrift Store Dresser

A few months ago I found this thrift store dresser at one of my favourite places to find furniture that is in great disrepair and I was fortunate enough to grab it for only $8.  I could tell that someone had lovingly built this piece from scratch many years ago and I wanted to do it’s story justice and bring it back to life.  As are most of the pieces I fall in love with, it was in sad, sad shape but just needed a little TLC to turn it into something wonderful.

The only prep I needed to do to this thrift store dresser was to remove the broken, brass-coloured wheels and the old wooden (and dirty!) knobs.  The rest was perfect as is; just in need of a little love and care… and of course, paint.  I chose this beautiful Fusion Mineral Paint in Laurentien for the project.  It is a gorgeous colour that looks like a soft, sea foamy green in most lights but has a hint of blue in others.

I have been wanting to work with Fusion Mineral Paint to test it out and this was a perfect time to try it.  (I will write more about the paint in another post once I have tried it a bit more)To change up the look of the dresser just a little bit, I removed the bottom two drawers and replaced them with a piece of thin wood cut to fit.  Tip: If you do not have a way to cut wood (like me!) Home Depot will cut it to measure either for free or a very minimal charge. To keep the wood in place, I used wood glue around the edges.  The addition of the wood created 2 cubbies perfect for blankets or towels while adding some charm.  After attaching the wood to make the cubbies, I wanted to add some height. I picked up 4 wooden legs at Home Depot that were the perfect height and width for the piece.  The wooden legs came with screws already in them so all I needed to do was attach them.  Tip: In order to mark where I wanted to drill the holes for the leg screws, I dipped the screw in the paint and then lined them up where I wanted them to go.  The paint left a mark on the bottom of the dresser and I just drilled a hole on that spot.  Once the holes were drilled, I just put some wood glue on the top of the legs and screwed them in.  To finish off the piece, after 2 coats of paint, I added some new glass knobs and distressed the paint.  Have I mentioned how much I love distressing paint because it makes a piece feel like it is a hundred years old?This piece has now made it’s way to our cottage and has become the perfect addition to one of the bedrooms for storage.  I love when something so sad looking can be turned into something so beautiful!

And, in case you are wondering what happened to the bottom 4 drawers; well… they were turned into something completely different… but that’s a story for next time. (check out what I built out of the extra drawers here…)

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