Anthropologie's Ordinal Dresser is one popular piece of furniture — so much that this is the second dresser makeover we've seen based off of it. The first one was a low, six-drawer version, but this one will have you thinking twice about which dresser is the original, and which is the knock-off. It's hard to believe, but the above dresser was made to look nearly identical to the Ordinal, all for only $30!
The ladies over at East Coast Creative love the Ordinal Dresser, but not the $998 price tag. So they took an old dresser that was sitting in their garage and completely transformed it. They stripped off the paint, sanded the wood, and used a jigsaw to cut off the scrolls, cut out the handles and cut down the drawer fronts. They then used spray paint and a couple of stains to create a metal faux-finish and an enhanced wood grain, and stenciled on the the lettering. The final look was completed with additional sanding for a weathered appearance and inexpensive drawer pulls from Lowe's. All for only $30!
• SEE THE FULL MAKEOVER: Anthro Ordinal Dresser Knock Off Style at East Coast Creative
(Images: East Coast Creative via Craftaholics Anonymous)
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Oh my!
Better than the original in my opinion!!
I would pay for that dresser! Not for 900, but def 300 range. I'm just not crafty or patient enough to make my own :(
I am not a fan of this fad but you gotta give to them for putting in so much work and doing it so well.
I'm also not a particular fan of the ordinals on the dresser, but WOW if that isn't an AMAZING transformation! The wood color and grain looks absolutely amazing, and I'm impressed how different the before and after are!
I think it looks better than the original, too! Awesome job!
Oh, my. Yours is far better than theirs. Love it! Thanks for sharing.
Love it! Must be quite satisfying to turn that dresser into a treasure. My son would love that in his room. Well done!
Great job! I like this better than Anthropologie's too! This would look great in my son's room. Thanks!
See, even though the design isn't my taste, this is what I would call UP-cycling. Beautifully done, made from something rather awful, now something to be coveted by a certain portion of the marketplace... Excellent!
Ouch!
Fabulous!
Better than the original, although with Anthropologie that's not hard to do...
anthropologie is for stupid heads. great job!
Wonderful! Love it!
I don't understand. Can someone explain why it's desirable to stencil 1st, 2nd, and 3rd onto drawers? I seriously want to know.
Lost all it character but I suppose in the right space ..
Did we see this one before?
wow love it
@BEE FOR BRIAN, just a guess here, but I'm gonna say it is desirable because the person who owns it likes the way it looks. I know it can be very hard to understand that there are people out there who have different taste than you, but maybe with time you will figure it out.
Anyway, that dresser isn't to my taste, but holy moly did they do an awesome job recreating that on the cheap. Damn.
Jaw-dropping. Exceptionally well done, ladies. This is one gorgeous transformation.
@ Bee for Brian: If you're asking why this is currently popular, you might look up the definition of 'herd behavior'. (aka some 'wannabe designer' posted on his fb page this was *trending* & the masses jumped on board - heaven forbid they don't have the latest & greatest - rollin eyes here - one of my pet peeves). If you're asking about aesthetics, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. There IS no explanation. It's personal taste. Personally, I like this, BUT I don't expect you to;)
Just gotta add....nope, ya know what...never rmind.....the last statement is the one most recalled and I want that to be...
I LOVE THIS!
I'm speechless. It's THAT good!
I agree with DGSTEPH that I liked the character of the original better. This trend of cutting up a dresser and stenciling on it isn't my style, but they did a great job of achieving the look they were after.
I've never seen the Anthropologie original. I think what BeeforBrian might be getting at is that if you're not familiar with the original, as presented in all it's Anthropologie-ish context, this looks...weird.
So I'm going to be honest: technically, they did a gorgeous job. The wood grain has come up lovely. Etc etc. But I adored the details and hardware on the 'before', even if it desperately needed some TLC, and I find the 'after' clunky.
Sorry.
Okay, just looked at it again: I would actually find the 'after' lovely, if it wasn't for the '1st, 2nd, 3rd'. Which I hate.
nice save
I'd love to see what they did with the top - is that where the faux metal finish is?
@GRINSNGIGGLES, check out the link in the article, they have lots of pics of the project.
That is truly a transformation - a complete redo!! Wow!
Thanks, Holler. I was already aware that different people like different things, but your guess was helpful. I'll spend some time thinking about your concept that people desire things that they like.
So far, the clearest rationale for the stenciling seems to be "to copy somebody at Anthropologie." It seems funny that the owners of this dresser, who evidently have skill and talent, would aspire to be knock-off artists instead of designers. Riffing on a trend is one thing, but this looks too slavish for that. Some people might say "You know the craze for chevrons? Well, that made me think 'What if the chevrons were all the letter W from various fonts?'" Other people say "You know the craze for chevrons? I copied it and put chevrons on everything!"
Interesting transformation. Better looking than the original, if I may say. I would kill to have one if I were a teenager again.
Not my personal taste but a great DIY. anthropologie pricing is seriously out of control.
Not my style at all but way to go on not only beating the ridiculous Anthopologie pricing, but their version beats Anthro's by a country mile.
The curly iron drawer pulls on the original make me nostalgic for bad dressers of yore. I am old.
I'm not into the ordinal trend but wow, that is a stunning knock-off!
What great tranformation!!
THIS LOOKS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I absolutely concur that this redo is nicer than its inspiration!
Wouldn't the top 2 drawers be 1st and 2nd? :P
This is pretty cool!
The original Anthropologie dresser looks quite silly and misplaced in the demonstration interiors. This copy beats the original by a mile, too. I don'r have any deep feelings one way or the other about the numerals---I think I'd enjoy them for a good while then need to sand them off.
PS And it DOES annoy me that the two top drawers aren't numbers 1 and 2. . . .
---And it DOES annoy me that the two top drawers aren't numbered 1 and 2. . . .
I think I would have removed the panel that is nailed to the bottom, added a pretty moulding there, removed the hardware and painted them white or gold,painted the dresser white, and put the hardware back on.
oh... this depresses me. both of them.