The Nursery Part Uno: Dresser

Let me first start off this post by telling you about my illness. I am a ridiculous bargain shopper. I never EVER buy anything full price. Just ask about my awesome stroller finds! I would rather search through re-sale shops and thrift stores than the mall any day. It is such a great feeling when you find that perfect, original piece that no one else will have- and the hunt makes it all the more fun! I get this from my mom so blame her. Even if I did have $1000 to shell out on a Pottery Barn dresser I wouldn't because where is the fun in that?? There is no story or work behind it. Boring.

Moving on..... I knew for our furniture that I wanted a dresser/changing table combo, so my mom and I started our quest on Craigslist and used furniture stores for the perfect one. Let me also say that we are sticklers for good quality, solid wood furniture and you can't really find that affordably anywhere nowadays.....so we like to get old stuff and fix it up. We finally found it a resale/thrift store in The Colony. It is the Christian Community Resale Store and if you haven't been you should really go. It's awesome. The dresser has 6 drawers, is the perfect height for changing (I am going to attach a changing pad and put some cute baskets at the end), and is solid maple!! The price tag said $60 which we already thought was pretty sweet, but then the guy knocked it down to $45!! Such a steal! I of course had to call Scott first to see if the project was something he wanted to take on (on top of the already arduous task of refinishing the crib-more on that later) and he said ooooh yeah. The finish was messed up and scratched and there were a few places in the wood that needed to be filled, but we knew we wanted to paint it anyway.


Step 1: Sand



Step 2: Fill wood



Step 3: Prime


**Side note: We found a really great no-VOC paint and primer at Lowes. I was skeptical as to how well it would cover, but it was actually really nice. If you don't know what that means or think it doesn't matter, go here: Creating a Chemical-Free Nursery**


Step 4: Sand again

(because Scott is a perfectionist!)



Step 5: Paint! two coats

I know this is still a priming picture but I didn't get a painting one. :(


Step 6: Sand once again
(we like the lightly distressed look)


Step 7: Paint hardware
(actually- sand, primer, paint, clear coat hardware)

Scott had a genius idea of drilling holes into this piece of wood we had laying around and screwing the pulls into it. He then propped it up with a broom so the little handles would stick out and painted. Saved probably 2 hours of work. He is so smart!


Step 8: Affix hardware



Step 9: Apply drawer liner
(I am weird about this. Anyone else?)


And Voila!




I really love it. Scott did such an amazing job. We saw one that was refinished similarly at Cat and the Fiddle for $900 that wasn't nearly as well done. The cutest part was how all of our neighbors got into the project and would come by everyday to see how it was coming (and talk for hours!). One of the maintenance ladies here asked Scott if he was a carpenter. hehe.
I am so proud of my little changing dresser and love that daddy got to fix it up!

Coming soonish: THE crib

5 comments:

Raquel said...

wow that looks great! i love the white. so cute

Shannon said...

I've done a good deal of refinishing myself (also being one to have a hard time paying full price)! Good job Scott! Cant' wait to see the crib...I can only imagine how much work that would be! (All those slats....I'm overwhelmed just thinking about it!)

Brenna said...

Nicely done!

Scott said...

Slats... How about 48 turned Spindles, and of course I didn't want to spray primer... I brushed primer and then two coats of paint. Its taking forever.

Thanks, BTW!

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