It's not a bad piece of furniture really. Perhaps a tad stately and serious for a little boy's room but it doesn't have that weather beaten, begging to be painted, look that so many before dressers have. So do you suppose that revealing this after will be any less satisfying? We think not. Read on to see what a custom stencil and some white paint can do to turn up the kiddie volume on this rather serious looking piece of furniture.

At first, Miriam, of Flor's design blog Musings, thought she had "crazy pants idea" but in the end she is pretty happy with the results. We think she should be. You can see her step-by-step process of reverse stenciling here, including how she got the stencil in the first place. We also like some of the close up shots that show how beautiful it is where the woodgrain shows through the negative space in the design. And check out her roundup of reverse stenciling projects that she used as inspiration including one we reported on here last spring.
(Images: Miriam/Musings via Better After)

Shaw's Original Fir...
Wow! That is 100 times better than I expected, and I was expecting to be impressed. Great job!
WOW! Well, as opposed to the first poster, I wasn't at all expecting to be impressed by a blue dresser with white accents & cheesey starfish or something. But this...IS AMAZING. I LOVE the woodgrain. Beautiful.
beeYOUtiful
as soon as i saw the before, i thought uh oh, all the comments are gonna rip this one a new one!
but wow, i don't see how anyone could. that is super cool and totally different and still allows the original beauty of the wood and piece to shine.
Wow! When I saw the before picture, I was impressed by how beautiful the wood grain was (and I'm not a stickler about painting wood the way some are). The after is amazing! What a wonderful way to modernize it without taking away from the beauty of the original.
its simply beautiful.
stunning!
*drool*
This could have gone so wrong...but it is absolutely SO right and SO beautiful!!!! AAA+++++
I was expecting to really hate this (because the before looks almost identical to a dresser passed down to my from my grandparents, only in much better shape), but I'm actually very impressed. What a creative and well carried out design!
i felt sad for a second because i thought the "before" picture was actually really nice but then i saw the "after" -- super-wow!
That is absolutely beautiful! The people featured on Ohdeedoh never cease to inspire me!
Amazing.
killjer job, Miriam!!
that's awesome.
I am usually not a fan of painting good quality wood. However I love that this modernizes the dresser while still showing the beautiful wood grain. Perfect compromise. This is so gorgeous!
Gorgeous! I also thought "uh oh" when I saw the before, because I thought the before looked nice. The after blows it away thought. It looked nice before, but now it's absolutely stunning.
I was NOT expecting that at all. Simply stunning.
Thanks doll,
The Glamorous Housewife
I was expecting to see something TOTALLY different...but this is AMAZING!!!!
Wow. Incredible. You should start selling these!
wow! I didn't have high hopes for this project but i was happily surprised. I looks wonderful!
Oh. My. Gosh.
was my reaction out loud when I saw this!
Awesomely, awesome, awesome.
NOOOOOOOOO! Don't paint! No! ( attempting to gather myself) uhm, I mean, not for me.
This is insane! I love it sooooooo much!
love it. it's beautiful. and yes the wood still has a very nice finish but this is amazing one of a kind and done in such a way that it'll grow with him since it's not a childish boat at all. well done.
had* not has (though the wood showing through is still beautiful.)
Wow I was prepared to hate this but I don't. Drats. Foiled again.
I kind of want this dresser... It's SO fun! And would totally fit with my Hook-loving self!
wow. just wow. amazing
Honestly, I thought it would be painted white/neon in the clickthrough. I was sad for the adorable deco dresser with lovely wood...
...But I was pleasantly surprised. It's lovely, and still retains the character of the wood.
when i first saw this I thought this person is going to ruin a perfectly good piece of furniture< but OMG it is GORGEOUS.
Me likey. Me want.
Sooo much energy and so strong! Awesome!
I wonder if the natural wood fans could use a vinyl stencil instead of paint? Less permanent that way.
That is completely stunning!
Wow! What a wonderful surprise to see this int reader this morning since its MY dresser!! Thank you so much for featuring it and thank you to all for the generous and kind comments. I was hoping to submit the whole room to you once I finished it ...so to see the dresser get noticed without my sending it to ou seriously has made my whole week!!
Ugh...please ignore the blatant typos...I'm on my iphone on hour 2.5 at the dealer getting my car fixed :(
Fabulous idea and execution!
YES.
LOVE! Everything about that makes me smile.
I was another one who expected to hate this, but the after picture literally made my jaw drop. What a great way to customize and keep the grain visible! Crazy-awesome.
sigh*... Simply gorgeous. :)
What's the bed with the cubbies underneath? Looks great.
WOW!!! This is SO creative and unexpected ... definitely would be the focal point of any bedroom! I love that plenty of wood is left intact, as well, gives it an aged, warmer & richer feel.
ugly
why ruin something that was good
Love it. Great for a kids room
@Duckster - the bed is a twin Beadboard Storage Bed from PBTeen found here: http://www.pbteen.com/products/beadboard-storage-bed-and-medium-tower-set/
Like many others, I thought "Oh-No" not this dresser. Then I saw the after; *SIGH* WOW, JUST WOW!