I just refinished a dresser with similar lines in the same color scheme. Uncanny. I left the legs wood though.

i have a similar dresser, but the wide 6 drawer version. it's definitely due for some TLC. thanks for the idea!

so ugly, would be better to paint the whole thing and add some fun hardware

Can I be the first commenter to bemoan the destruction of a lovely midcentury modern dresser ?

It's cute though.

Beautiful update!

Normally, I'm in the "don't paint the wood" camp. But this is lovely - the best of both worlds. You get the crisp look of white paint, and the lovely wooden drawer fronts. Plus, I like how the new design highlights the geometry and proportions of the piece.

nice job!

I have an identical dresser, which used to be my grandfather's. And I recently saw the whole set at a consignment furniture shop-- but no where near the $20 mark. wow!
Not sure I could ever paint over my grandfather's piece, but its definitely a neat look for a thrift store find.

I think it's lovely and the white seems to outline the clean lines.

Very nice.

Fun hardware on mid century? Perish the thought! The 90's are over.

I'm with jlc74, I'm usually getting ready to cringe when a dresser makeover is featured, but this one is really cool. I understand why it had to be done; Formica is a dealbreaker.

I really like that the wood drawers are kept as wood (albeit a darker color), and the paint makes it look great. I don't know if I'd do the same, but I applaud your effort - and your result.

I like it! Laminate does constrain some options. (I'm about to apply copper leaf to the wooden beveled edge of some laminate topped side tables for my Library. For us, since it's in good shape, the laminate is a plus -- no water rings from patron's water bottles. But the tables could stand SOME kind of enhancement...)

I love articles like this, and this is one where I do like the "after" a LOT better.

Maybe because I'm midcentury-vintage myself, I don't see inherent value in leaving things exactly as they were.

Also, it looks great with those Ikea curtains!

I have a great midcentury walnut credenza with a laminate top...I address the laminate issue with a embroidered thai silk runner...Voila!

I don't understand "bemoan the destruction of a lovely midcentury dresser". Before, it looked like a beat-up piece of junk with a laminate top. Now it looks very good and Kate has an affordable piece of furniture. What's to bemoan?

LOVE this! Great find and nice revamp. I'd love to do something similar myself........... hmm..... off to the Op shop! :)

Although the result is okay, the formica could have been replaced with a sheet of real wood veneer instead, preserving the mid-century look of the piece. Removing the formica is tricky but possible.

I love what you did. I wish I had room in my bedroom for a dresser to do the same!

"so ugly, would be better to paint the whole thing and add some fun hardware"

Couln't disagree with this more, what is "fun "hardware" ??? Your dresser looks amazing, i for one love it. Well done ; )

I usually don't care whether someone paints furniture or not, but when I saw how someone dusted and buffed some furniture back to life (it looked awesome) I was hoping to see the same thing in this case.

That being said, I think your dresser looks REALLY good! It just looks chic and modern, I love it.

Looks great. I get people being upset if it were all wood but it wasn't. The piece has a new life now.

I did the same thing to a dresser with a laminate body.
http://www.rearrangeddesign.com/2009/11/dresser-redo.html

Come on, not everything old is a treasure. A piece of junk furniture is junk, not vintage. Great job, the dresser looks great and stylish and now you can put it in your room rather than in the dumpster. Love it.

Nice! Not sure about the Formica. Like the idea of new wood veneer. But whatever. It looks nice and better than it would in a dumpster. Excellent overall...

Fantastic! Looks great with the curtains.

I really like the look of white paint and wood together.

I work up in North Dakota and bought some very similar pieces from an old motel for $20 bucks when they were throwing it out. It has the exact same laminant, I decided to leave that unpainted.

http://imgur.com/ChI4Z

Nice, nice job!

I am in need of a dresser but refuse to pay a lot for it. I'm not sure exactly why dressers seem to be one of the most expensive furntiture you buy...but anyway...you've inspired me to look at thrift stores and see what I can do to make it my own and update a piece. Beautiful job! Love the contrast between the white and dark wood!

I happened upon Kate's blog a few weeks ago and have been hooked ever since. She gives great advice about fostering/adopting dogs. I'm happy to see her project featured here--the contrast looks great! Excellent job turning a seen-better-days piece into something fresh but not fussy.

I too, couldn't disagree more with "so ugly, would be better to paint the whole thing and add some fun hardware" Eeeek. What katie has done is beautiful, and a great save. My favourite DIY on AT yet!

I just love it. I like the crisp white along with the dark stain. It's a brilliant right-this-minute combination and a great way to NOT throw out the baby with the bathwater, which is what painting the whole thing might have been. And yes, you can see the mid-century flavor peeking through in a good way. Pat yourself on the back -- a LOT. You did a great job. Well-conceived, well-executed.

Very nice ! I usually don't like when people paint over pieces like this but this is very well done !

Love this! Nicely executed, it looks beutiful with the contrast of the dark wood against the white.

LOVE. Would love to find a lowboy to use as a changing table in our *future* (fingers crossed) nursery, & give it this treatment. Love!

AMAZING! I've been looking for a piece like this to do the same thing too! Fantastic!

It lightens it up while keeping all of the rich wood tones. Fresh and still modern. Painted laminate is preferable over fake wood grain laminate (in my humble opinion).

Beautiful! I think it looks great and really pops. I totally agree with ModHomeEcTeacher that painted laminate is so much better that fake wood. I think I might copy this idea! Thanks for sharing.

Looks great! Personally, I would have done the opposite color scheme though.

This is a really beautiful, classic update. I've been seeing a lot of really colorful & fanciful dresser updates lately, so it is definitely a nice change to see something a bit more simple and versatile.

Beautiful job!

i think this looks great! i am in the camp of don't paint it when it comes to fab mid century wood furniture but totally understand with the formica top... i used vinyl and brass nailhead trim on the top of a built in dresser in my 1920s apartment that had been built out of cheap wood & painted over a million times by past tenants. http://www.almost40yearoldintern.com/2011/08/i-love-great-after.html

I am a longtime fan of Kate's DIY inspiration (and her work with dogs!!) and think this one is a truly inspired piece. Way to go, K!

I was so worried that the after would be color-blocked or ombre or chevron. This is so nice! Great job updating a thrift store find.

I was actually nervous to scroll down to the "after" shot... was I ever relieved! Great work! It keeps the spirit and context of the piece alive, whilst renewing the beyond-repair aspects.

I've taken to dismissing any comments that insult something by attributing it to a particular decade, yet don't put the apostrophe in the correct place in "'70s" or "1980s" or whatever.

There seems to be some confusion from some of the posters as to what a "laminate" is. The generic meaning would be a material consisting of thin, glued layers. This dresser most likely has a very thin layer of wood on it's top, making it impractical to sand. A wood laminate will show water stains. It is not the same as Formica. (Nice redo)!

This is a great job!

I don't see how she has destroyed the piece, given that the piece remains the same, she still has the warm wood tones showing through and she didn't cut it in half or actually physically 'destroy' it. Great way to combat the laminate problem!

I actually love what they have done with this dresser. I in fact own this same exact set (a hand me down from my grandparents)... This tall dresser, and a 6 drawer long dresser, and 2 bedside tables. While I love the mod look that my dressers give, I have been looking for a way to update them a bit and I love this look. I think I just may have to try this out on mine! (-:

It looks great! I have a similar dresser and would like to paint it so it has a lacquered paino type finish. Does anyone have a recommendation for someone who could spray this kind of finish on furniture?

I think it is an improvement, but overkill. Sanding and staining the drawers is nice. Bet it looks better with the legs given the same treatment.

If only the top was problematic, I don't see why one couldn't address just the top. I like the little bands of varicolored wood tones between the drawers on the original, be they wood or fake wood - I'd have kept them if they were in good shape (they look fine in the photo.) If the sides were wood, and the front of the case, I'd have sanded and stained them, too, and just addressed changing the top.

But then I'm not a fan of the wood and white look that is all the rage now. Nor of dark walnut here ... if I stained the piece, I'd have used something closer to the original in color.