Numbered Dresser - Before and After

I'm a day past my self-imposed deadline but that's okay because the dresser for Little Ninja's bedroom is finally, finally, finally done.  

Happy dance!

I feel so relieved that little dude now has a stash for all of his mini hoodies. (He only has one hoodie so far but I've still got a few weeks to build a collection.)  ;)

Back to the dresser.

I originally bought the dresser almost three years ago at the Christie Lake Antique Show. It was old, it was crusty, it was only $90. I loved the size, shape, and style so I didn't think twice about bringing it home. Except it sat in our basement for way too long gathering dust and taking up space. See, it had quite a few layers of old paint already, all crackled (which I kind of like) but the base colour was a hideous hunter green which just had to go.

A few weeks ago my awesome dad offered to strip the paint off for me so that I could finally get it ready for the baby's room. Here's a photo of the dresser after all the paint was stripped off: 

I knew I wanted the dresser to be white, but I also wanted to add a little bit of interest and depth so I did a two-colour paint finish. I'll explain in the step-by-step tutorial below:

1. Remove Old Paint

We did this step for a few reasons although you don't always have to strip the old paint off before repainting old furniture. There were too many layers of paint, there were deep cracks in the top paint layer, and I wanted to get rid of any yucky old paint in case Little Ninja decides to chew on this dresser at any point in the future. My dad used a heat gun and a metal scraper to remove all of the old paint layers. He did this in the garage with the doors open for ventilation.

2. Sand

Before priming the dresser, I gave the whole dresser a very light sanding by hand with some fine grit sand paper (150 grit). I then wiped it down with a damp cloth.

3. Prime

I usually prime furniture with Benjamin Moore's Fresh Start Primer, but I ran out. On a routine trip to Home Depot I picked up a different brand instead. It worked fine.

4. Paint With Base Coat Colour

I chose to use grey as the base colour for the dresser. This is the colour that I wanted to show through underneath the white after sanding and distressing. I chose a very light grey (leftover 1/2 tint Grey Owl just because I had a bunch leftover from painting the living room / dining room). It is a soft, neutral colour that I know will go just about anywhere in the house. I painted this coat with a brush for all of the crevices and a foam roller for the flat surfaces.

5. Paint with Top Coat Colour x 1

Once the grey paint coat was dry, I painted directly over it with my top colour: Cloud White by Benjamin Moore. I chose an eggshell finish to make sure it was a bit more durable (I still don't like using pearl or semi-gloss paint on furniture even though that's what the paint store always recommends).

6. Paint with Top Coat Colour x 2

Once the first coat of white was dry, I painted a second coat of white on top. It just looked better that way.

7. Sanding & Distressing

When it was time to scuff up the freshly painted dresser, I went back and forth between using an electric sander and sanding by hand with 100-grit sandpaper. The sander worked really well on the top of the dresser and the drawer fronts. The side panels were so small that I used the sander and a sanding block by hand. 

8. Add Hardware

The dresser already had holes pre-drilled for drawer pulls / handles. I found some 3" industrial-looking pulls at Home Depot for about $5 apiece. Ouch, I know. Don't tell anyone that I spent 50 bones just on the handles. I also wanted to add a little something fun since the dresser would be going in the nursery. I really like the look of numbers on dresser drawers but I decided against stenciling numbers directly on the drawers. Instead, I found some adorable "house numbers" at one of our local hardware stores (Canadian Tire). They have a stick-on backing so they can be easily removed if I change my mind or decide to use this dresser somewhere else one day. 

And, the best part. Photos!

Can you see the grey paint showing through?

Brushed nickel 3-d numbers. So cute!

Boyish looking drawer pulls.



Hopefully Dude'll learn how to count to five after staring at this dresser all the time.

The after picture.

So, what do you think? Do you like it, do you like it, do you like it? It definitely fits in with the vibe I was going for in the room. Old / new / modern / country / industrial / fun. Uhhhhh, does that make sense?  

And here's a before and after comparison shot since those are always super fun:

Sharing Here:

Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch, Craftomaniac Monday @ CraftO'Maniac, Creative Bloggers' Party @ Homemaker On a Dime, Tip Me Tuesday @ Tip Junkie, Get Your Craft On Tuesday @ Today's Creative Blog, Tutorials and Tips @ Home Stories A to Z, Piece of Work Wednesday @ Primitive and Proper, Tuesday's Treasures @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Furniture Feature Friday @ Miss Mustard Seed, Frugal Friday @ The Shabby Nest

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