Happy Memorial Day Friends!
Today I am sharing some before and after photos of a dresser I just finished up. I saw this one on Craigslist and was drawn to all the great details. The seller was in my neighborhood, so I decided to buy it. She was moving and no longer had room for it. She asked that I “give it some love.”
It had a lot going on with all of the carved detail, the appliques and various wood stains. I decided to simply the look with a single color. The existing finish was pretty beat up, too. The knobs were not original and one was missing, so those needed to be updated as well. Here is the CL photo.
As per my usual process, I made minor repairs, cleaned, patched and sanded the entire piece. I then gave it 2 coats of (affiliate link) General Finishes Milk Paint in Lamp Black . The paint is fantastic and this particular color looks great with some of the wood tones showing through. Rather than a solid black, it adds dimension and a more vintage vibe. I finished it by sealing with (affiliate link) General Finishes High Performance Top Coat in Flat.
I added three smaller crystal knobs to the top jewelry drawer and lined it with a black and white pattered paper.
I added larger glass knobs to the lower drawers.
Oh my, there are just so many gorgeous details on this dresser.
I hope that you are having a meaningful holiday weekend, however you choose to spend it.
Thanks for stopping by!
Susan
Love it! The lines of the dresser are beautiful.
SOOOOOO much classier and harmonious.. and lovely, well done
Thanks so much for your kind comments! I appreciate it.
Beautiful! Love the crystal knobs on the black! Black can be so difficult to work with, but all of General Finishes paints are easy to work with!
Thank you Cathy! I love General Finishes paint, and especially their lamp black. It is the only black I use.
Beautiful transformation!
I live love love the dresser. Absolutely perfect. Way to go. Only suggestion:you might want to consider a taller picture on wall above it.
Thank you Tiz! I agree, a larger picture would look great. I use items I have on hand to stage my pieces, and they aren’t always perfect.
Oh my goodness! This is absolutely breathtaking against that wall colour! What a gorgeous piece! I was so busy looking at the piece that I didn’t even notice the picture on the wall 😉 BTW… I would love to know what the paint colour on your wall is if you’re willing to share 😉 I hope you have an amazing day!
Smiles!
Terry
Hi Terry! Thanks so very much for your kinds comments. The wall color is Benjamin Moore Pale Smoke. It’s one of my favorite colors. It’s a very soft blue gray. It really changes depending on the light as to whether it looks more blue or gray.
Thank you for sharing! It’s Gorgeous!
Beautiful. You can’t go wrong with basic black. And love the new site design. Very fresh! Was also sure to sign up to keep receiving your emails in my inbox.
I love Lamp Black and this dresser looks amazing! So impressed!!
How many coats did you apply for each application? BTW, this looks great. I am about to try and do this to my bedroom furniture. Any tips would be much appreciated.
Hi! I gave it two coats of each of the lamp black and the top coat. Good luck! I think you will really like using General Finishes products. They are my favorite! Susan
Thanks for your reply. I have ordered the paint and I’m very excited to see the outcome. What kind of paper did you use for the inside of the drawers?
Absolutely beautiful. I have an old commode that belonged to my mom. I wanted to do it in black. Thank you for the inspiration.
Hi there! You did an amazing job! I just have a quick question. Did you use a roller, brush, foam brush, or etc?
I am painting a chest also but having trouble with streaks and brush strokes. Thank you for any advice!
Andrea
I used a good brush (I used Purdy) and a foam roller for this piece. With General Finishes paints, you can get a really smooth finish even without spraying (which is one of the reasons I love this paint for furniture!). It’s always best to use several thin coats, too.
I LOVE how you did this dresser. You won’t believe it, but I just got the almost EXACT dresser off the curb 5 houses down from me last week. incredible! That’s why I was so drawn to this photo. My dresser is in pretty good condition but no original knobs, and pieces of veneer are missing. Do you have any suggestions for the missing veneer? Wood filler? I’m not sure what to do, though I know I want to paint it and I had already thought of doing black to match the room it would go in. I’d love your thoughts if you have time 🙂
Hi Kira! That is so amazing that you found that dresser by the curb! I am always surprised at what people throw away. If you are planning to paint, you can fix the missing veneer with either wood filler or Bondo. Wood filler is easier to use, I think, but you can get a really nice smooth, hard finish with Bondo. Bondo is a bit trickier to work with since you have to mix the two parts before applying and then work fairly quickly with it before it hardens. It’s also a bit more labor intensive to sand. But, either will work nicely. I typically use wood filler when I have just small areas to fill and Bondo for larger areas. Also, make sure to glue down any loose pieces of veneer. In my experience, it’s pretty common to have areas where the veneer is loose on a piece with missing areas of veneer. I use Gorilla wood glue and then clamp it down. Good luck to you. I would love to see a photo of your finished dresser! Susan
Thank you Susan for your insight and willingness to share your experience! I have SOME experience, but not lots 🙂 Yes, I am a frequent trash picker and have found amazing things. I will send a picture when I finish, but I am not tackling it until summer probably. I found another dresser a couple months ago that I’m doing first. It has no drawers. (crazy- the people put the drawers out on the curb one week and the body the next! If only I’d known!!) Anyhow, baskets will work. It is a nice solid dresser that has been started in the stripping process and then just left 🙁 weird.) So, that dresser is first for my at-home daughter. I’ll send both- hopefully I don’t mess them up!!! haha!