I came across an ad for this dresser online and noticed that it had already received a huge number of “page views”. Although the picture wasn’t ideal, the price seemed decent, so I assumed the dresser was probably long gone and the owner just hadn’t removed the ad yet. I always like to send a quick email “just in case” and was thrilled to receive a response informing me that yes, the dresser was actually still for sale.
This is the picture from the online ad:
From what I could tell, it just looked like it was in desperate need of a good sanding, a coat of primer and a few coats of paint. Sounds simple enough, right?
When I arrived to look at the dresser, I noticed one bottom edge seemed to have some water damage. It didn’t look too bad, so I “thought” some glue, a few clamps and a good sanding would fix that up.
When I got it home, I removed the drawers and sanded down the main body of the dresser.
Once finished, I was able to inspect the side a little more closely. Oh boy...I realized the side was made from a piece of plywood and the water had actually separated many of the layers and was damaged over halfway up the side. There would be no gluing or clamping...the entire piece would have to be replaced. SO, what did I do?
Ok, maybe not. I certainly wasn’t smiling as I took a hammer to it and smashed out the side though!
With the cause of my aggression now lying in splinters on the floor, I started sanding the drawers. I realized almost right away there was a problem. See the light color peeking through under the light green?
The light green paint was obviously a latex...the light color underneath must have been an oil. If you are not familiar with painting, keep note that this is a HUGE no-no! Latex paint will NOT stick to an oil paint. (latex is fine over an oil base PRIMER, but NOT an oil base PAINT) It was no wonder the paint job was in such bad shape...the slightest bump and it was peeling off!
I think it was at this point I sat down on my garage floor and just stared at it wondering WHAT in the world I’d gotten myself into! Kicking it to the curb crossed my mind, but a friend had seen the before picture I’d posted on facebook and had already asked if she could buy it when I finished it! I knew I had to keep pushing onward!!!
I lost track of how much time I actually spent sanding the dresser...it was a long time, I know that. I was SOOO excited to finally apply that first coat of primer!
You may have noticed the far side of the dresser is still missing. I needed my hubby to cut a new piece for me, but was too impatient to wait until that happened, so I kept going forward without it!
After the primer came the paint!
It was so nice to see a beautiful piece of furniture finally emerge after all the problems!
With a new piece cut, primed and painted, you would never know I had smashed out this side with a hammer!
I had originally planned to reuse the original drawer pulls assuming they were just painted wooden pulls. They weren’t. They were a cherry red plastic which had been poorly painted with the same dark green latex paint. Latex paint over plastic – also a no-no. I ended up just buying some brand new simple white pulls to replace the original ones.
After a couple of clear protective coats, the dresser was finished! SUCH a transformation, don’t you think?
Now that this project is complete, I can actually sit back and laugh about the entire thing. It was definitely a LOT of work, but I’m happy with the finished piece.
