Dresser transformation

I currently have plans to decorate/remodel/update every room on the main floor of my house. I showed you the start of my front room transformation a few days ago. The other room that I'm actively working on is the "girl's room". Currently Buddy and Girly-Lou share a room. But since 'Lil was born, we knew we wanted a girls room and a boy room. There's a lot that needs to happen before we can make the big change. First up on the list was a dresser.
I totally scored a free dresser (left on a curb after a garage sale). Solid wood, dovetailed drawers, totally awesome. Very dated:


But it was screaming paint me. I'd seen so many dated pieces of furniture that were painted and suddenly were awesome, modern, adorable. I knew I could do this. The details on that front would be awesome.


So I started sanding. But something didn't seem right . . .


And I realized that the fronts:


Were actually plastic. Bummer. No matter what I do to plastic fronts, with little kids, would just end up chipping. So instead I pulled all the fronts off. Now I had particle board fronts.

Not nearly as cool. I looked. And looked. And LOOKED for something to put on it that would add a great detail. But I really couldn't find anything that really was what I wanted that wasn't going to add another $50 to this "free" dresser. So instead I sanded SUPER well, puttied up the old pull holes, and just painted it.


Ahh. So much better. I do wish there was a bit more detail, but it's still so much cooler. I'd heard some great things about this paint:


Behr's Premium Plus Ultra. (From Home Depo) It has the primer mixed in already. After looking at all the options, I actually picked on of the Disney colors: New Day Dew. I must say it did go on very smooth, and had great coverage. I did end up doing three coats, but only because I mostly did this at night in my very dim garage, where I couldn't see what coverage I actually had. In better light, I would have only needed two.

I also picked up new knobs.
I was a bit worried about the fit. After taking the fronts off, the wood was a bit too thin for standard screws. But since I drilled new holes, it's tight enough that the knobs don't turn or wiggle at all.

So breakdown of cost:
Dresser: free
1 qt paint: $15
12 new knobs: (1-10 pack for $15, 2 singles for $2 each, total) $19

Grand Total: $35. And it's going to look GORGEOUS in the new room!

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