Furniture

Modern Dresser Makeover – One Room Challenge Week 3

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I am so excited to be sharing this furniture makeover with you today. I’ve been dreaming up this piece since we switched bedrooms with our kiddos 5 months ago (more on that here). There were definitely moments in this process where I was ready to throw in the towel and give up. But instead, I persevered through this modern dresser makeover and ended up with this beautiful dresser which I love, for less than $215 bucks!

Below you can see what the dresser looked like when my friend asked if we wanted it for one of our projects. And since I can’t say no to furniture that needs a little TLC, Andrew begrudgingly kindly stored this dresser in the shop since last November. As you can see, she finally got her glow-up.

BEFORE | AFTER

Dresser Shell

We started this process with deconstructing the dresser a bit. Andrew removed the fluted detail running vertically along each side and the trim that encompassed the base of the dresser (this included some portions of the feet). After those steps, the dresser looked like this:

Once I figured out what I wanted the dresser to look like (you can read about my inspiration in my week one post) we devised a plan. Because of the way the drawers were constructed, we couldn’t remove the original drawer fronts. But since I wanted an inset look, we would need to build out the frame of the dresser. I suggested wrapping the dresser in new wood since the top and sides were made with a veneer, and Andrew surveyed his scrap wood.

Next, we removed the trim directly beneath the top of the dresser so that we could use our circular saw to trim the top to be flush with the sides and front of the dresser.

After reaching this point, I knew the original feet were not going to cut it for the modern look I was seeking, so Andrew used the circular saw to remove those as well.

Now it was time to build a new ‘shell’ around the old dresser. Like I mentioned earlier, the dresser sides and top were made from a veneer that wasn’t in good enough shape to stain or paint easily. Also, because the veneer was thin, the dresser benefited from another layer of wood to strengthen the structural integrity.

We had enough cabinet grade plywood to use for the sides and top of the dresser. Andrew used pocket holes to attach the plywood sides and the poplar face frame pieces.

We took this new ‘shell’ and basically just slid it onto the front of the dresser. Fit like a glove.

We used wood glue and screws, screwed from the inside of the dresser, to attach the new shell. Next, Andrew used the remaining plywood to make a simple top for the dresser. Then it was time to address the dresser’s feet. Or do you call them legs?

Dresser Legs

I’ve probably said this too many times, but Andrew will find any excuse to break out his wire-feed welder. And since he prides himself on buying as little material as possible for these types of projects, he convinced me to let him use some tube steel we already had. To be honest, it wasn’t a hard sell since I couldn’t find any prefabricated options that I liked. Also, we’ve used this tube steel for several other projects lately and it always turns out great.

Instead of simply welding two pieces together, which we have done in the past, Andrew made one modification. He cut 3 of the 4 sides of the tube steel 1.5 inches shorter than the bottom side of the steel. This allowed him to place the vertical piece ON TOP (as opposed to just butted up against it) of the horizontal piece. This doesn’t matter structurally for the joint, but it allows you to have one continuous piece of steel along the bottom, so that A) there are no rough spots that scratch your floor, and B) you can add furniture pads to the underside of this piece. If the two pieces of steel simply butted together, the underside of each end would be an open tube with no ‘cap’.

Andrew welded the tube steel at 90 degree angles, then welded a piece of angle iron across the top opening (making what was a U shape into an O shape). The angle iron provided a way for us to attach the legs (feet?) to the bottom of the dresser.

I’m not sure what constitutes furniture feet or furniture legs but I’m using them interchangeably here.

Andrew drilled two holes in each stretch of angle iron (be sure to use oil on your drill bit!), then attached them with screws to the underside of the dresser.

And then, my friends, she started to take shape. This is the point where I realized this might actually turn out pretty decent looking. Believe me, there are plenty of things you don’t see online because they didn’t make the cut or we started over and went a different direction. There’s always a moment of “Is this going to look how I envision in my head?”

Modern Dresser Makeover: Drawers

Modifying the drawers was another small project. The original drawers used a wooden track, on the underside of the drawer, to slide in and out. This is a characteristic of inexpensive furniture, and the drawers didn’t slide as well as we would like. But, the drawers were too wide to just attach metal drawer slides on each side and call it a day. There was also not enough room underneath to attach under-mount drawer slides.

So, Andrew cut one end off of the drawers, trimmed about 3/4 of an inch off, then put them back together. The timeliness in which he accomplished this was mind blowing.

Using the circular saw, he cut through the three sides of the drawer box, right inside the left side of the drawer. He measured and marked the additional wood he needed to remove, then also used the circular saw to trim those sections. He then reattached the drawer side using wood glue and staples.

After the drawers were reassembled, I sanded the sides and applied Minwax wipe on polyurethane to give them a finished look. Not that anyone but Andrew and I will see the outside of the drawer boxes since you have to be opening the drawers to see them, but I still like to go the extra mile. You know what I mean?

We did consider building new drawer boxes but see my note above about Andrew’s frugalness when it comes to furniture flips. Also, we felt that if we did that, we essentially just could have built a new dresser from scratch. We really tried to salvage as much of the original dresser as possible, I mean, isn’t that the point?

Now that the drawer boxes were slightly smaller in width, Andrew added these metal drawer slides. After installing the drawers slides, we added new drawer fronts.

We used two 1″ x 8″ x 8′ select pine boards to create the slab style drawer fronts. To create the inset look, the new drawer fronts cover the horizontal pieces between each drawer. Andrew attached the new drawer fronts with wood glue and finish nails to hold them in place. Then he added screws, screwed in from the inside of the drawer.

If you’re wondering what’s up with the duct tape, we were just trying out some pull options. Just kidding. We needed a way to open the drawer without having hardware yet. And since you can’t pull from the side or bottom of inset drawers, this was our work around.

Modern Dresser Makeover: Primer and Paint

Usually when it comes time to paint a DIY project, you feel like you are in the home stretch. Like you can see the finish line. This was not the case with this project. The painting process for this dresser almost got the better of me. I started by priming the dresser with SW Wall and Wood Primer with my favorite Critter Siphon Gun. I prefer to spray projects like this because I typically get a smoother finish than brushing. And its much faster.

And to make the painting process easier, I learned this hack a few years ago. Use a roll of craft paper (or wrapping paper like I used here) to tape off the sides and top of each drawer. Then insert the drawers back into the dresser, but leave them sticking out a bit. This allows you to paint everything at one time and not have to tape off the dresser cavity. You do not need to cover the entire drawer with paper. I covered about half of the top drawer since it was pushed most of the way in, and about 2/3 of the bottom drawer because it was sticking further out.

Then, I sprayed one good coat of primer on and assumed it was enough. I think we all know what happens when we assume.

Since the sides and top of the dresser are made from plywood, it soaked up the primer. This didn’t leave the ideal surface to adhere the paint.

I moved on, not realizing my primer job was sub-par. I sanded the primed dresser with 220 grit sandpaper, then sprayed on two coats of Sherwin Williams Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel in Urbane Bronze, also sanding in between coats. I’ve used this paint on several furniture projects before; it dries hard and is super durable. Only this time, it didn’t dry in a super smooth coat like it has before.

There are several reasons this could have happened. I was painting outside, so it could have been too hot or windy, allowing the paint to dry faster than normal. It could be that my primer job wasn’t the greatest and the paint was not adhering correctly. I did wait over 4 hours between the first and second coat. This is crucial to not have a tacky and slightly sticky paint job in the end. Or maybe the paint was slightly too thick for my sprayer. Although, like I said, I’ve used this same paint with this same sprayer before and had beautiful results. But this is the beauty and curse of DIY – it doesn’t always turn out the same every time!

After the second coat dried, the finish was still rough and nowhere near a hard coating. I added two more coats of paint to the drawers and sides of the dresser, again sanding between each coat, and varying my spray pattern. Since I wanted the top super smooth, I sanded the paint, and rolled on two more coats of primer. It was one of those ‘one step forward, two steps back’ moments.

The two additional coats of primer definitely helped to create a smooth-er surface. When the primer was dry, I, again, sprayed on two coats of the trim enamel. For these two coats, I added Floetrol to the paint to help it spread into an even coat. At first, I wasn’t sure if I could add Floetrol to this specific paint because Floetrol is made for latex paint and this is a urethane. After a little bit of internet searching, I found a few tutorials where people used it successfully with this urethane trim enamel. And at this point, I really had nothing left to lose, so I went for it.

The floetrol did help the paint to even out, but it still wasn’t ideal after it dried completely. So I lightly sanded with 320 grit sandpaper and brushed two coats of spar urethane on the dresser top to protect the paint.

Lastly, I painted the inside edge of the dresser frame by hand since this was covered by the drawers when spray painting.

But back to the dresser’s feet (legs?)

When the painting of the dresser was finally done, I shifted back to the feet. First I spray painted them with some silver metallic spray paint we had from a previous project. Then I applied rub ‘n buff (in gold leaf) with a cloth to give it the gold accent I was envisioning.

And the home stretch was finally in sight!

We added brass drawer pulls, centering them on the drawer fronts. To keep your new paint job in good condition, make sure to place painters tape on the drawer before drilling the holes.

I’d really love the two gold tones to match a little more, so I’m considering adding some of the rub ‘n buff to the drawer hardware also. The difference is more subtle in person than in the photo above so I’m still debating – stay tuned!

Modern Dresser Makeover Reveal!

Even though my paint job didn’t turn out as stellar as I had hoped, I still love this piece and the way it turned out! It fits perfectly in our bedroom and I can already feel the room transforming into an adult retreat.

Doesn’t the warm gold tones and charcoal color look great with those hardwood floors?! Urbane Bronze is so versatile and goes with so many other things.

Modern Dresser Makeover: Budget Breakdown

All in, we spent $213.76 on this dresser makeover! Next up, we are adding paneling to the headboard wall and painting all the walls with a fresh coat of paint. And I have all the material to make new nightstand bases – I even ordered this cane webbing and hope that process goes better than my dresser painting process. If you missed my previous One Room Challenge posts, you can catch up here:

And here are some of our other furniture projects if you want to check them out:

I’m having so much fun with this One Room Challenge and would love to know if you are participating too! Comment below or connect with me on instagram @elleandjaydesign. And you can find me on Pinterest here!

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