Updated Dresser: From Black to Blue

Hello everyone! Hopefully you all had a fun and safe Halloween and haven't eaten all the candy yet. Braxton still doesn't quite get the whole trick or treat thing, but he didn't hate it as much as last year. And he didn't seem to mind his costume too much either, so that helped. We just visited the grandparents again since our monster didn't want to walk up to people's houses. The sidewalk is much more exciting.

Today I want to share a before and after of a dresser I updated to fit into Braxton's big boy room. The original dresser we had in the room was a dresser I had as a kid. It was an antique that my parents gave me and I was terrified that it was going to get ruined. So instead of trying to keep it safe, we opted to give it back to my parents and replace it with a used dresser that we wouldn't care as much about. I was able to find this dresser off of a local buy and sell group on Facebook for $40.

It was more than I wanted to pay, but people around here are crazy when it comes to furniture and ask way too much money. I knew this was probably the best I was going to do, so I jumped at the opportunity. I'm not going to lie, it probably sat in the nursery for a good two months before I got my butt in gear and started painting it. I knew I wanted to do something fun so I decided to paint the drawers a fun bright colour. I choose hi gloss Race Car Stripe by Behr.

I bought a half gallon and ended up doing three coats to get the best coverage, though the above picture was after the second cost. I let the paint cure for about 10 days because this was back in the summer and it wasn't the best weather for painting. After this waiting period I felt better about using delicate painters tape to tape off the red in order to get the dresser colour on the front of the drawers. First I did a quick light sand with a high grit sandpaper and wiped the dust off. Add a little painters tape and I was ready to go.

Because this dresser was already painted I only had to two light coats to get the coverage I wanted. See the beautiful summer grass in the background, too bad it doesn't look like that anymore. I gave the base the same sanding treatment and two coats of satin finish Bering Wave by Behr later the dresser looked so much better.

Being honest here, this dresser is used as a change table right now. That being said, I didn't waste my precious energy to stage it to look better. I know that's not the way things are supposed to be, but I think you can forgive me this one time. I'm sure it would look much nicer with a lamp and nick knacks, but they would have been on the floor within seconds courtesy of Braxton.

I think the red drawers give the dresser a fun surprise that Braxton will enjoy for years to come. And now that all of the hard work is done, these colours can easily be changed if we or he decides they need to change. I am also enjoying the better storage that comes with a six drawer dresser, versus the three drawer one we had before. Here is a better picture of the true colour of the blue paint, it's hard to get a great picture.

It wasn't the biggest before and after ever, but the blue looks great in his room. Hopefully we will finally finish this big boy room up before our little miss gets here in a few months. Then I will be able to share the full room with you guys, not just little parts here and there. I'm not going to get to over ambitious, but I can hope.

Have you guys ever painted furniture? I love the look that paint can give you, and how you can make a piece grow with you for years.

Kerby