This is a tiny little dresser – about 18″ wide and only about 12″ deep.  I guess it would be called a lingerie dresser or lingerie chest?

Lingerie chest, Lingerie dresser, painted lingerie dresser, small dresser, panty dresser, bra dresser

A “disaster dresser” to begin with.
Look at the destroyed top!

Lingerie dresser, painted lingerie dresser, small dresser, panty dresser, bra dresser

Missing knobs, chipped drawers – and what you can’t see inside, is that the drawer bottoms are all warped from moisture as well.  (that’s why the bottom one won’t close)

I have no idea why I decided to tackle this lingerie chest, other than the fact that I love a challenge, and at $10 I had nothing to lose – although I clearly over-paid.

Lingerie dresser, painted lingerie dresser, small dresser, panty dresser, bra dresser

 Wait till you see it finished – you won’t believe it’s the same piece!

I stripped off all the old varnish and stain (or what was left of the previous varnish and stain) and sanded out all the nicks, scratches and water marks and found that there was a pretty decent base underneath.

Lingerie chest, Lingerie dresser, painted lingerie dresser, small dresser, panty dresser, bra dresser
Dressers, desks and nightstands are easy to refinish.  If you’ve thought about it at all – these pieces are where you should start.
Straight edges, flat surfaces – no elaborate stripping or sanding needed to clean it up.

Lingerie chest, Lingerie dresser, painted lingerie dresser, small dresser, panty dresser, bra dresser
Usually, you don’t have to do much work to the inside at all.
Just make sure that you sand down around the drawer openings so that the old finish won’t show when the drawers are open and closed.  

In the case of this lingerie chest though, it did require new drawer bottoms – a simple fix really.  Cut your new drawer bottoms from ¼” ply to the same size as the bottoms you’ve just pulled out.  If your lingerie chest (or dresser or desk) has a dado lip – a notch cut out to slide the drawer bottom into – just slide your new piece into place and glue or nail it to keep it solid.

Lingerie chest, Lingerie dresser, painted lingerie dresser, small dresser, panty dresser, bra dresser

 I didn’t keep track of the time, but I think I’m correct in saying it took about an hour and a half to sand down the entire piece.

I still have some of the grey Cabot stain left from this post, so I thought I’d use it on this piece as well.

This is the first coat:

Lingerie chest, Lingerie dresser, painted lingerie dresser, small dresser, panty dresser, bra dresser

For me, this lingerie chest looks a bit blotchy and uneven, so after the first coat completely dried, I applied a second, then a third…

Lingerie chest, Lingerie dresser, painted lingerie dresser, small dresser, panty dresser, bra dresser

 This is three coats, no varnish and with new (GORGEOUS) knobs.

Lingerie chest, Lingerie dresser, painted lingerie dresser, small dresser, panty dresser, bra dresser

 I had planned to flip and my lingerie chest, but seeing these results, I seriously had second and third and fourth thoughts on the matter.

Lingerie chest, Lingerie dresser, painted lingerie dresser, small dresser, panty dresser, bra dresser

Hard to believe this is the same top from the first photo of my lingerie chest?

Lingerie chest, Lingerie dresser, painted lingerie dresser, small dresser, panty dresser, bra dresser

 My favourite – the before and after!!

Lingerie chest, Lingerie dresser, painted lingerie dresser, small dresser, panty dresser, bra dresser

I love, love, LOVE this one!
If only I had this much underwear to actually “need” a lingerie chest. 


Have a great one!

Too funny, Mom Life


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4 Responses

    1. Thank you so much! It’s easy to be fearless when you have nothing to lose – most of these pieces were free and pretty dire.

    1. Thank you very much! I did end up selling this one, and I’ll be honest and say that I’ve been kicking myself ever since. lol