Before I get into this DIY- I must tell you about the great living room debacle. Our living is very narrow, with one accent wall being a brick fireplace, and the other being this "cubby" you see in the picture. On the other two walls, there is a window and on the other is a open window that looks into the kitchen. Initially had great plans to put our TV above the fireplace, since that is the focal point of the room. Obviously that was a lapse of judgment since mounting the TV to the brick would be a you-know-what, and the fact that the TV is too big to fit above the mantle. SO-what's a girl to do? Chad and I looked and looked for entertainment centers, and could not settle on what we liked. I wanted something to hold our million DVD's and multimedia. We finally came across this little gem at our local Habitat for Humanity Store.
I immediately liked this piece, although I didn't purchase it until later that week. I knew it was a sign when I went down there and it was still there and marked down $20.00. I spent $50.00 on the dresser.
So I brought it home and wiped it down.
The first thing I did was got my supplies together.
For this project you'll need:
-A band sander
-At least 4 sanding belts (I used 120 grit)
-primer (I used Zinsser All Purpose Primer) 1 quart
-your paint of choice (I used Valspar's Semi-gloss paint in Seine color (6005-2B) 1 quart
-paintbrushes (duh, but Chad says to put it on here)
-Drill with circle bit (1 inch)
-Flat head screw driver or electric screwdriver
TIME: 16 hours (We did this on a weekend in between doing other stuff)
First, we took the drawers out of the dresser and took the knobs off.( I suggest putting the knobs and screws all together so you don't lose them). Then I began sanding. There were some deep knicks in the wood, so we took most drawers down to the wood. I would also suggest getting some breathing masks, if you need to do a lot of sanding. The last thing you want is to be breathing that stuff. Also, use plastic underneath your project unless you want sand and dust in your garage forever.
Ta-da!
After sanding was completed (which is the majority of this project), Chad took the blower and blew all the sand and dust out of the garage. We knew we wanted to leave a drawer or two out of the dresser so we could have room for our PlayStation, and VCR (don't hate- I love childhood movies), so Chad used his drill and a circle bit to cut out a space for the outlet plug to fit through.
After the holes were cut, we took our screwdriver and took out the runner for the drawer.
Like so:
Then Chad took his blower and blew off the dresser to ensure no dust or sand was left over. I also took a cloth and wiped the dresser down with water.
After that, it was time for paint. As mentioned before we used an all-purpose primer. We choose all purpose for two reasons, 1) We didn't think we would sand all the dresser down to the raw wood, and needed something that would go on all surfaces, and 2) We knew we wouldn't use the whole quart. (and, thus gives me some for later projects :)
We painted the whole dresser in primer. You'll want to do paint all the surface of the furniture even if you don't sand to maintain an "even look".
After we primed and had paint everywhere, we let it dry. It was a pretty fall day, so we let it dry outside while we went to a birthday party. Happy 50th Uncle Sammy :)
When we returned, we I painted the dresser with Valspar Seine color. We decided to use the original knobs, so we painted those as well.
I let the dresser dry overnight, and then did touchups.
Then we moved it into the living room and I installed the knobs.
After that was done, I put all the drawers in, and unpacked the million DVD's we have. Ok, maybe like 60, but still.
We also set up out TV, PlayStation and VCR. I put a few decor items up, and viola!
much success!!
I love it the way this project turned out. This piece really compliments our living room. Now I gotta work on that mantle, and get some decor on the walls!
I'd love to see what furniture you makeover!
Until next time.
- Jill -
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