Oak Dresser Makeover

I have another dresser makeover to share!

This one is a yellow oak, and part of a two-piece set, so you’ll be seeing the finished combo once I have them both delivered (and ahem- staged).

This dresser is about 24 years old; I know, not ancient or antique, but a quality wood piece that the owner (Kari) wanted to keep for both nostalgia and longevity.

She just didn’t want to keep it in this state:

Not too bad from this angle, the colour is slightly dated, but nothing you couldn’t live with but this:

scratched, water-marked, raised-grain, seen-better-days top had her pulling her hair out.

Time for a clean-up and an update:

A thorough sanding of the top with grits from 60 up to 220 had all of the imperfections removed and the grain level – ready for priming.

The body got a light sanding as well to remove years of furniture polish, oils from hands and to rough up and remove some of the varnish. A quick, but thorough, wash-down with TSP to remove any residual “gunk” and she was ready to go.

I tested out a new primer on this piece – Stix from Benjamin Moore and let me tell you I am IMPRESSED! It really sticks! The best part is that it’s water-based, so I don’t have to get out the varsol/turpentine to clean up (something I hate to do).

A quart came in at $27 Cdn and did two coats on the dresser and two coats on the tallboy – so it’s a great investment.

Two coats of my new favourite primer and she’s ready for paint:

Kari chose “Paper Mache” from Benjamin Moore in their Advance formula (it hardens over time to be almost as durable as oil paint)

Look at the gorgeous combos she can put with it:

Think bedding curtains area rugs, lamps etc.

Two coats of Advance in a pearl finish and voila!

This may be one of my favourite dresser makeovers ever. My photos don’t do it justice, but the lines and angels on this piece are just gorgeous.

The client opted to keep the same hardware, but now they stand out as ornate jewellery to the dresser’s creamy white décolletage. (You know by now that I have issues with personification of my pieces lol)

This dresser makeover went from watermarked and worrisome to embellished and elegant!