Dresser Project: Guest Post from Micah of Unabashedly Me

Today I have a guest post for you from one of my longtime online friends: Micah from Unabashedly Me!  We originally bonded over our mutual loves of singer-songwriters and writing, and she is one of the sweetest and most thoughtful people I know.  I was excited when Micah offered to write a guest post while I'm at camp, and even more excited when I saw the dresser she customized with a creative paint job and fabric!  - Heather

I’m so happy to be writing a guest post for Heather. It gave me a good excuse to do a much-needed DIY project. 

I bought my first house (all by myself, thank you very much) in April 2011, and I’m still working to make it feel like a grown-up home.  I spent so many years renting that almost all of my furniture is hand-me-downs or garage sale finds.  And since I have two cats that are not declawed, that is probably the best option.  But that doesn’t mean I don’t want it to look nice and put together. 

My bedroom is probably the biggest mix and match room.  My oak headboard and night stand came from a consignment store. I got the white bench at the foot of my bed and a small white wicker cabinet from a family friend.  My dark finish cabinet, which I got at a garage sale a few years ago for $7 looked completely out of place.  I wanted to change that.

Here’s what I started with:

And here’s the finished product:

I scoured Pinterest and talked to some friends before finally deciding what I wanted to do with my dresser.  I knew I would be painting it white, but I wanted to make it a little more interesting as well.  I decided to mimic the diamond pattern on my bedspread and in the wall art (which I made to match my bedspread).

Here’s what I gathered and bought for my project:

(Please ignore my messy garage background.)

Supplies

White paint + primer = $18.18

Beige paint = leftover

Epoxy = $5.99

Mouse sandpaper = $5.99

Mouse power sander = borrowed from my friend, Ryan

Mini roller = leftover

Mini roller refills (pkg of 2) = $3.47

Painters tape = $2.97

Wood knobs (pkg of 2) = $2.49 x 2

Fabric = $0.97 x 4

Mod Podge = $4.47

Total = $49.93

I wanted to do the project for $30 or less. I nearly went double that, but I’m not disappointed.

After I gathered everything I needed, I was really excited to get going.  So as soon as I got home from work on Friday evening, I changed clothes and got to work. I had three hours before my beloved Texas Rangers were set to play, so I wanted to make some good progress by then.  And I did.

First, I removed the hardware from the drawers and filled the holes with epoxy. 

While I waited for the epoxy to dry, I sanded down the dresser. 

The epoxy still needed time to dry, so I measured the drawers for the placement of the new hardware.  I checked the measurements three times before I finally drilled the new holes.

By the time I was finished, the epoxy was dry enough to be sanded. Then, it was time to put the first coat on the dresser and drawers.  I chose a primer plus paint formula, and the woman in the paint department at my local hardware store told me the first coat didn’t have to be very thick.

I also painted the four wooden knobs that would become the new hardware.

Then, I went inside to watch the baseball game and let this first coat dry.  I fully intended for this to be the end of my Friday work, but after the game (a Rangers win!) was over, I decided to go ahead and do the second coat.

Because of all my progress Friday night, I felt OK about sleeping in a little on Saturday.  After I had a cup of coffee, I went out to check on the paint.  I saw a few areas that needed touching up, so I went over them again.

Then, I taped off the areas that would be painted a sandy beige color, which I had leftover from when I painted my bedroom walls.  These areas included an inset on the sides of the dresser as well as the diamond pattern in the center of each drawer.  I was most nervous about the ones on the drawers.  I wanted to make sure the diamonds looked very even and balanced.  I measured, re-measured, taped and re-taped a few times before I felt like I’d gotten it right. 

After I got the beige applied where I wanted, I went inside to watch a movie while it dried.  Having something to watch between steps was important for me because I’m pretty impatient and would have gone crazy just waiting for it to dry.

When the movie was over, I checked the progress and only saw a few areas that needed touch-up. 

And they were on the dresser base, so I was able to begin work on lining the drawers.  I used a paint brush to apply Mod Podge to the bottom and back of each drawer.  Then, I quickly applied a fat square of fabric to each drawer.  I chose bright, colorful fabrics that I felt complemented each other.

                                                    

It’s only a shame I will end up covering these pretty interiors up with clothes.

I was finished with the whole thing and had it back in my room by 8 p.m. on Saturday night.

I’m really, really happy with how the project turned out.  The dresser no longer seems like an afterthought.  It looks cleaner and prettier.  I love looking at it everyday.

I may just have to do a few more DIY projects in the future.  If you are so inclined, please come by my blog and say “hi.”