Nothing is more fun than fixing up an underdog, they are always my favorite. Finding that ugly piece of furniture is like that sad faced overlooked puppy at the pet store. It may be ugly, but underneath is the same skin and bones.
I found this small dresser and it looked like it used to belong in a child's bedroom. Spiderman stickers, gum, and well...lets just stop there. I knew it needed saved and I was the one that would do it! Of course there was prettier dressers, even for a thrift store, but this dresser kept tugging at my "underdog heart strings".
First make sure that you remove all paint, stickers, gum etc. Especially the loose paint like this one had. It had spray paint over the base paint. I do believe spray paint has a purpose on base wood at times, but not visa versa. It just doesn't stick well over latex.
I even left some of the base paint on because it allows a "bleed" through with the top layer of paint after sanding. As you can see I even left the colors just the way they were as well.
After the sanding is complete. Choose your paint color. I am using some surplus mismatched mismatched-paint (basically mismatched paint from Lowe's I remixed with other mismatched paint). Since I have such a surplus and it doesn't like the cold weather that's headed our way I chose this color. So this way, I don't have to drag as many paint buckets back into the house over winter.
Then to add interest and more "bleeding" I poured a small amount of a darker blue into the paint WITHOUT mixing. Jut leave it in a swirl pattern. When ready to paint dip your brush straight up and down into the paint to keep the swirled paint on your brush just like it is. Then apply to your project thin coats at a time allowing each layer to dry before adding the next.
While waiting on the paint to dry, this gives you time to take care of the hardware that was on your project. The knobs I had were white and I opted for a nickel color instead. So I spray painted these with a can of Dupont Spray paint in nickel.
After all paint has been applied to your taste, then take a sander with small grit sandpaper and just add your distressing to it. If you are not into the "distressed" look, then leave as is. You now have a custom styled dresser you can proudly display. No one will ever believe it was that sad puppy in the store!
- Paint onhand $.00
- dresser (thrift store) $.09
- included $.00
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TOTAL OF TODAY’S PROJECT $.09
