Yay! I'm so excited to share this with you all. First....the back story.
This whole thing came about last spring when Riley was beginning to get mobile and started crawling, rolling, and then walking to the TV stand and pushing all the buttons on the devices, pulling books off the shelf, etc. I decided I wanted a new entertainment console and I really wanted everything to be enclosed. Well, we started looking, and we couldn't agree on anything, or the ones we liked were crazy expensive. Then one day I found one that I just fell in love with...
But, then I found out it was $1400...and if I just wanted the base piece, it was $800. So, scratch that idea. Back to the drawing board... Then, I saw this repurposed dresser on Pinterest and I loved it! It took some time, but I finally convinced Jarrod that I thought we should try something like this.
After doing some more Pinterest searching, it became evident to me that I was really into this distressed white look. Like, really loving it! I started pinning all kinds of ideas and tips for painting furniture and started researching a paint that friends told me about, Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. {Here are some of the links I used for inspiration:
Next step...we finally found a dresser! We got this bad boy for $35 from Craigslist. And let me tell you...this thing is heavy!
My helpers, all ready to go!
So, we decided to go for the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint despite it costing more than your traditional paint. You can do some research online, but the ease of it sold me. No sanding, so priming! And, it dries super quick. So, we washed the dresser down with hot soapy water and removed the hardware. Then we played with it to decide which drawers were going to become the shelves. Once we decided, we got started. I chose the Old White color of paint and her clear wax. I painted two coats on the whole dresser and all the drawers in a matter of about 3 hours.
Then, we cut some wood for the shelves. Now, we're not trained woodworkers or anything, so they're not perfect, but they do the job and they're made by us, so they're even more special. :) We cut holes in the back for the cords, and then I spray painted the inside of the back with black so that it wouldn't be as obvious.
Next, we applied the wax. I used a brush to apply a thin coat of her clear wax, and the wiped the excess off with a t-shirt. Once that dried, I used a sanding block to distress the piece. Lastly, we applied another coat of wax to protect it all. If you're going to do this, I'd suggest searching You Tube for some videos so you understand the whole wax thing. I saw some after the fact, and wish I would've seen them before waxing.
Lastly, came the search for the hardware. Lesson learned...for my next repurposing project, I'll make the current hardware is presentable and can be spray painted. The hardware on this dresser was hideous. So, we pitched them. But....finding hardware to fit these holes was next to impossible. The end result was that we 1.) spent way more on hardware than I was intending, and 2.) had to drill new holes for the top drawers.
The end result is a piece I'm so proud of, even if it's not 100% perfect. I love that we did it together, and I love that it's supposed to be distressed....so if it gets beat up by the kids or the vacuum, it's not the end of the world!
Can't wait to do another project!
{After all was said and done, we spent about $170 on this project. But, we have enough paint left to do another project, enough wax left to probably do two more projects, and the cost of the dresser also included a gigantic mirror that we're going to work on for our house, too.}
