Welcome to my happy place of DIY, homemade, homegrown, handmade, nourished & crafted, whole hearted living. Finding magic in the mundane & growing some roots in the process.
This post may contain affiliate links. If you click on a link and purchase an item, I will receive a small commission. For more info, please see my disclosure on my Connect page.
I have a secret… this sweet little dresser has been in my basement for at least 6 months.
I would work on it, then it would sit, then I’d work a little more, then it would sit again. I’ve actually had it finished, waiting on knobs, for 2 months. Yep, that pretty much sums up life lately but, it’s OK because I’m owning it. I found this dresser on one of my local FB yardsale sites last fall and couldn’t pass it up, even though I should have.
She turned out to be a beast.
Once upon a time it was hand-built, maybe in a wood shop class.
It was lovingly created, but over the years it had been beat up, neglected, and was missing a whole lot of it’s innards. I had to rebuild the drawer glides inside, and then break one out and rebuild it again because the original positioning was cut in wrong, which is probably why someone ripped it out in the first place.
I really should have scrapped it at that point because I will probably never re-coop the supplies and labor on this piece, but I love a good challenge and couldn’t bring myself to give up.
Next, I filled cracks and holes with putty and a did a whole lot of sanding to even out paint drips from that electric blue paint job.
After that, I gave it a good vacuuming then wiped it down with tack cloth.
Then, it sat in my garage until November when my family was coming over for a party so I carried it down to the basement. Where it sat until January, when I gave it a fresh coat of grey paint and a layer of top coat. I didn’t like the look of the hand-painted top coat and decided I wanted to to spray it but it was way too cold outside to spray, so it sat some more.
Finally a warm day came so I hauled it all to the garage and gave it a couple nice hits with top coat to give it a hard finish.
I then waxed the drawers and drawer glides. If you have drawers that stick or don’t slide easily, grab yourself a little bit of inexpensive paste wax from the hardware store and give the bottom edges of your drawer a little coat of wax. Let it dry then buff with a soft rag. It only takes a couple minutes and completely changes the way the drawer will work.
After the dovetail grey paint, top coat, and freshly waxed drawers, you guessed it, it sat. To be honest, I was a little stuck creatively. I had tried several different styles of knobs but nothing stood out. It was such a simple little piece that I knew it needed something fun to give it life, but I didn’t know what it was needing.
This past weekend I drove down to Salt Lake City for Vintage Whites with my mama and aunties. We came around a corner and suddenly I heard harp music and saw a light streaming down from Heaven on these perfectly imperfect vintage-y floral knobs! Ok, not really, but I almost started singing the Hallelujah Chorus soooooo, close right?
I only bought enough knobs for this dresser and now I am kicking myself that I didn’t buy 40 more! They are killer, I tell you! I love the shiny brass peaking out from behind the rose.
It’s that little touch of whimsy that this plain little grey piece was begging for.
I think this sweet girl would be darling in a grey and yellow nursery or tucked into a toddler’s room to hold treasures. It would also make a fun little entry way piece. I can see it with a vintage milk glass bowl on top to hold keys with mittens and scarves tucked into the drawers in the winter, sunscreen and sun hats in the summer.
Now she just needs a happy new home!
*Update: This cutie has SOLD!*