Trash to Treasure: Dresser Redo

A long time ago, when I only had one, two and even three kids, I did a lot more transforming of yard sale furniture into beautiful items for my home than I do now. In fact, now I take a look at a scratched and dinged up yard sale piece with "good lines" and quickly remind myself, "You don't have the time or energy. Don't even think about it."

This past summer I went looking for a small dresser with specific dimensions. I wanted a place to store the family's winter hats, mittens and scarves by the front door. I've been using a basket type dresser for this purpose for the past two years. It was a handy-me-down from my grandma and it served its purpose adequately. However, it wasn't made well and Matt had to repair broken drawers several times. Also, the contents of the dresser were always visible, even when the drawers were completely closed. I scoured yard sales, thrift stores and Craigslist for a small dresser, but came up empty.

Then one day I spotted THE ONE inside St. Vincent de Paul. The perfect little dresser (I measured it)--all wood, dove-tailed drawers, sturdy, BUT the finish was in terrible condition. It was a bit pricey, too. I stood over that thing in the store and pondered and pondered. I finally called Matt to ask permission to buy it, half hoping that he'd be the voice of reason and say, "Forget it, you don't have the time." Instead he said, "If it's the right size and it's what you want, then you'd better get it." So I did.

Then the dresser sat in our shed for several months. Finally on this past Saturday, with freezing weather predicted for that evening, I decided if I wanted the dresser inside the house for this winter's use, then I'd better just bite the bullet and get it refinished. (I've learned the hard way not to spray paint inside.)

Matt roughed up the finish of the dresser with sandpaper (such a good hubby) while I went to Lowe's to get espresso brown spray paint. It took me all afternoon to paint the dresser, but I'm pleased with the result. I only wish that I would have painted it turquoise instead of brown--but now it's done and it's not getting redone any time soon.
Elizabeth organized all the winter gear neatly into the drawers. I now have a much more visually appealing (at least to me) piece of furniture next to my front door and I have the added bonus of having met my furniture refinishing quota for the next six years.