I drive right by the Goodwill when I take my daughter to and from school each day.  That translates into about 20 drive by’s per week on a normal week.  It makes it extremely convenient for me to just pop in several times per week and search for great finds.  Last week, after picking up my daughter, I spotted this little cutie parked right in front of the store.  Of course, I had to pull over to get a closer look.

Before

It was covered in cob webs and had sticky gunk all over it.  On the side, “Help me!” was written in red marker.  Yes, this dresser was quite literally screaming for help.  You can see that here.

I’ll admit, that’s a bit creepy.  My daughter really didn’t want me to buy it.  She was convinced it had come from a haunted house.  I assured her that I had transformed furniture much worse than this one, and that it could be beautiful.  Structurally it was quite solid.  She reluctantly helped me wheel it through the parking lot and I loaded it into my van.

A bright and cheery makeover was in order.  Here it is all finished.

After

Steps

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I started by giving the dresser a good scrubbing and making some minor repairs.  I then filled the major gouges and sanded the entire dresser using my orbital sander and 120 grit sandpaper.  I applied a first coat of B-I-N Shellac Base Primer.  Immediately after doing so, the “Help me!” started bleeding through the primer and became even more visible.  It was totally freaking me out and I was beginning to think I might need to burn some sage to make it go away (haha).  I applied another coat of primer, and the bleed through was less, but still visible.  I applied a coat of Zinsser Clear Shellac and then another coat of primer.  Finally success and no more bleed through!  No sage burning needed.

I applied 3 coats of a custom mix of General Finishes Milk Paint in Antique White and Snow White to the entire dresser.  I let it dry for a day and then applied this really fun scalloped design Shape Tape to the bottom (the directions say to wait 3 days before using the Shape Tape, but who has time for that?).  I won the tape in a gift basket about a year ago and have been waiting for just the right project to give it a try.

I applied the Shape Tape to the bottom of the dresser so that the paint line would be just above the lower knobs.  I then sealed the edges of the tape by painting a thin coat of the white base coat paint over the edges.  I discovered this trick for sharp paint lines when I painted stripes on my wall a few years ago.  Once dry, I applied 3 coats of another custom paint mix to the bottom.  I added a small amount of General Finishes Key West Blue chalk paint to the existing custom white paint until I had a pale watery blue green shade. Immediately after the third coat dried, I carefully removed the Shape Tape to reveal perfect lines!

I then applied General Finishes High Performance Topcoat in Flat to the entire dresser to seal and protect.

I added some pretty coral flower knobs from Hobby Lobby.

I don’t normally paint drawer interiors, but the top two drawers were covered with blue and pink ink stains that I could not sand out.  I primed and painted them white and then added pretty fabric liners to the bottom.

The blue Kate Spade Posy Court Vase was a bit of a splurge for me.  I bought it for myself for Mother’s Day.  It says, “A smile is the prettiest thing you can wear.”  In my case, that is definitely true since most of my clothes are painted covered yoga pants and t shirts.  Sigh.  I just love it and used it as the color inspiration for the dresser.

And these lovely coral pink tulips from Trader Joe’s are just so perfect.

Thanks for stopping by!

Linking with Seeking Lavender Lane and Refresh Living