I absolutely love any reason to visit an antique store. The idea of rummaging through pieces of furniture that have survived the test of time brings me this sense of adventure. There is something to the thought that you can take something old and make it new again. So when we moved into our new house we realized we needed to find a new piece of furniture for downstairs in the living room. We needed storage.
When we bought the house we were desperate to find a new home. We obviously looked past the lack of storage in the name of shelter. At the time we were renting back our current house with a deadline looming to be out. We really didn’t want to have to find a short-term rental. So when this house came on the market we jumped on it.
There are things in hindsight, the storage, that we should have thought more about. But with the thought of losing yet another house, we couldn’t wait, we made a bid and here we are. So with minimal storage in this new house and not having a basement we were desperate for more storage. Off we went to find a piece of furniture to flip into storage.
The Search For The Right Piece
Sometimes, you just know the right one when you see it.
Since we were new to the area we had to find a new place to do our antiquing. This is when we found our new favorite place in the Cincinnati area for antiquing, Ohio Valley Antique Mall.
We were initially on the lookout for a desk of some sort that we could also use for storage. A place to store all of our office supplies, paperwork, and the like. We needed a desk so we thought that our storage issue could be solved with a large desk. We decided that one with lots of storage on the sides would be ideal. Two birds one stone kind of thinking!
After browsing for some time we came across this large dresser in a quaint little booth that had been painted a reddish color. It spoke to us for some reason and our whole initial plan of a desk-type piece turned into a red dresser with lots of storage potential. Some of the best plans come with detours.
Decisions, Desicions!
After mulling over the dress for a little bit we decided that it would work really well for what we needed. This was quite the miracle that we didn’t have to go back and look at it ample times till we decided. Kevin is a muller. He has to mull over such decisions. When we were dating he bought a new couch. To say that I sat my pretty self upon many couches multiple times at a plethora of stores is putting it lightly. He had finally settled upon “the one” but threw his last-ditch irritant my way by saying “Maybe he should bring his cat to make sure he approved as well”.
So with decisions made, in record time, we bought the piece and brought it home. Kevin started immediately working on it! He always loves having a project. I think if he was honest multiple projects at once are best so he can tinker with many things at once!
We decided that we wanted to finish the dresser the same way we had done my Grandpa’s buffet. Stain the top, our favorite Rustoleum Kona Wood Stain color, and then paint the bottom portion white, with white furniture paint.
Related: Furniture Refinish Project: Buffet To TV Stand
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Let The Magic Begin
If only you could actually use magic! Just wave a magic wand, and all the hard parts will be done for you! Or just let Kevin have a stab at it, which I guess makes him my magic maker!
Our Steps For The Dresser Repurpose Project
Step 1: Stripping
Kevin went right to work stripping the top of the dresser since that was the only part we were going to stain. He used our go-to stripper, Citristrip. Citristrip has less of an odor and works really well. It’s amazing how once you have stripped one piece of furniture all of the other pieces seem like a piece of cake. Probably because you know what to expect.
Step 2: Sanding
Once the piece was wiped down and dry from the stripping process it was sanding time. We sanded everything down, top to bottom. I learned the hard way that there are many different grits of sandpaper. Once I tried starting a refinishing project when Kevin was out of town. Well, let’s just say when he got home he was less than impressed. That was the beginning of my lesson in sanding grits!
Step 3: Staining
Finally, he started the staining process. Kevin used our trusty old Rust-Oleum Kona Wood Stain again. He had to do multiple coats to get the color dark enough. Once it was the deep chocolatey color we liked it was time to seal it. The top was finished with a coat of polyurethane.
Trust me if you asked Kevin there were definitely more steps that he did than what I am describing but this is from my point of view so you get the condensed version of events!
Something to do with mineral spirits, let it dry for x amount of time, wood putty and I’m sure the list goes on. All the minute details he has perfectly finessed over the years of projects.
Step 4: Prime and Paint
Once the top was stained, sealed, and dried, we primed and painted the bottom with white furniture paint. Painting the bottom definitely took a couple of coats especially to cover the initial red color.
We always wait to paint the bottom till after staining. Just in case there are any bleeds from the stain on the bottom portion. It’s definitely easier to paint over these little mishaps instead of trying to get the stain off of the white paint.
Step 5: Finishing Touches
The last thing we did before bringing the dresser inside to fill with all of our papers, office supplies, and junk was to add new drawer liners. We decided to keep the drawer pulls that the piece came with. But we did spray paint them a bronze color. The same bronze we had used for the first dresser refinish project we did.
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Another Dresser Project Complete
The dresser turned out really well. It goes right along with the cabinet that we initially turned into an entertainment stand. The dresser has been moved around the living room to multiple areas. I love it behind the couch or against the wall at the entry of the living room.
Deciding on the dresser was really ideal since it fit all of our papers, pens, cards, and office supplies. If we are being honest it actually houses lots of “junk”, for no better word, as well.
Though the dresser has now been through two toddlers and a move it has held up quite well. It definitely needs a recoat of the white paint in places. Partially from nicks but mostly from the additions made through the creative expressions of our toddlers. I’m glad to say that, the dresser is still surviving the test of time!
The Before & After
