When we asked Morgana of Fellow Creatives for a before and after project to share, she sent us this one which shows the power of seeing the possibilities in making over thrift store finds. Start with a $25 dollar dresser, spend a weekend on the redo and just look at what you can end up with…
Here's what Morgana told us about the project: I live in a tiny cottage in Austin, Texas. I love to hunt local thrift stores for old furniture that will not only compliment the look and feel of my house, but also fit within its limited space. I bought this mid century modern dresser for $25 and thought that once it was refurbished, it would go nicely with other pieces I have in that style.
The whole dresser makeover took only one weekend to complete. I coated the dresser in 2-3 cans black semi-gloss spray paint. The dresser is made of partial board, so I didn't feel guilty painting it. In its original state it didn't have any drawer handles, so I drilled holes and added ornate knobs I found on sale at Anthropologie. The dresser now fits perfectly in my small bedroom and goes nicely with the yellow antique mirror that hangs above it.
Check out more from Morgana, including other before & afters: Fellow Creatives
Images: Morgana/Fellow Creatives
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That's really nice, but what color is it? Is it black or is it a dark wood color? Either way, I think takes away some of the mid century look. I would have spruced it up with a new varnish but I wouldn't have changed the original color to something darker.
I really like the after, and the accessories and yellow mirror really make it stand out.
Beautiful job!
Love it! And the mirror and those little 1-2-3 canisters are adorable.
I did the exact same thing with almost the exact same dresser a few months ago. Moving to a new state, and a new apartment, I was a bit short on everything. Luckily, my neighbors across the street were having a yard sale, and I snatched a dresser for twenty bucks. After thoroughly washing it (smoke residue and spiderwebs!) and hand sanding it, I painted it a lovely semigloss deep purple. Please enough to put it on display, it currently houses all my VHS/DVDs and is the perfect height for my TV. Just goes to show you what some paint and elbow grease can do. And, the best part about moving to Texas? I only had to wait five minutes between coats of paint!
Wow! What a difference! It looks absolutely beautiful! And, I love how it was set up in the room! It looks just perfect!
wow! love it.
Great job and it looks beautiful against the wall color. What color did you paint your walls?
love it.
And can we please stop with the "it takes away from the original mid century modern look"? Who cares? These dressers were common and now this one is special!
Ditto what Shauntelle said.
Beautiful! A weekend well invested!
While the "after" avatar seems to fit in with the decor of the space, IMHO I think that the piece is worse off since the character of the wood (that I can tell from the photos) is lost under that dark black/brown/wenge finish. I realize that it is the finder/designer's prerogative to make it look exactly like they wanted, but at the risk of raising the hackles of Shauntelle & people with similar views, I do think it takes away from the MCM look. Nice redo regardless if you like that kind of look.
Cheers
I love the way this turned out. I have a dresser a friend gave me I think I might do this.
Not a fan of the after. I don't think this piece was ruined or anything, I just think spray paint was a bad choice b/c you can see the unevenness of the paint texture in the picture. I think that staining or actual paint would have been better choices. Also, it doesn't look like the piece was sanded and filled in beforehand. If the owner likes it, then that's all that really matters. If it were me, I prefer a more even texture.
I think this was a great redo for something fast & cheap. As far as ruining the original "wood", she said it's made of out particle board. I'm not sure how much character that crap can have to begin with.
I'm loving the jewelry in the lidded glass vase. Simple but pretty!
Thank you all for the wonderful comments! For those of you worried about the integrity of the wood, the dresser is mostly particle board with a faux wood finish, so sanding and re-staining was not even an option. I probably wouldn’t alter a quality solid wood mid century modern dresser, but this was a cheap look alike that I had fun getting creative with :)
Well, I for one really like the color in the "after". Congrats, you made a cheap piece of furniture look lovely :) Beautiful.
i LOVE the after-piece. even if it WAS real wood--who cares? maybe a stain instead of a spray? i think it matters to match the vibe/colors of your place. makes things all come together and not look like you live IN a garage sale. ick.
adorable! good job. :)
sometimes i wonder why some of the commenters do not read the post first. they wouldn't need to wonder about what colour the paint is, for instance. :rollingeyes:
looks like a quick and successful job to me, well done!
I LOVE the drawer pulls! This looks great :)
this looks great! i really like it. :) nice work.
When the after photo came up, it made me so happy, I literally laughed out loud. I think it's stunningly beautiful, and I'm wracking my brain to think what it reminds me of that makes it seem wildly expensive.
Wait... you know those patent leather purses with delicious jeweled clasps that Jackio O or Audrey H might carry? It reminds of that, so that's PLENTY "Mid Century Modern" for me. Seriously. No, really, I LOVE it.
And the word you're searching for the "wood" that was? "Veneer", which although it is real wood, but micro-thin and she's right, it would NOT have held up to stripping and sanding. The veneer glue would have probably moistened and the veneer would have rolled off.
Love this, great job! Love how the handles added so much with so little. Thanks for sharing.
IMHO, if you are going to make a radical change, then make a radical change. I would have painted the top black and perhaps trimmed some black around, but the other color might be similar to the walls, or contact/wall papered with something with a flourishing design, and contrasting black handles. Now that would be a radical and attractive change. To me, solid color repaints are a "safe" way out!
I submitted a similar project I did to Apartment Therapy (I used an ebony stain, though, because my free find was a genuine antique). My dresser never appeared on the site though. Sigh.
That mirror looks cool and all, but I think a bigger one would pop so well with the awesome dresser and wall color! Another funky one like the one you have though, just bigger. :)
But if you like it that way, then that's what matters..just a thought! Good job with the dresser makeover, by the way!
Def. agree with ArtsyGirl... if you're going to put all that work into it put the trim around it and do a better paint job... its nice but im not WOW'd
Ooooh... fancy!
This is a fantastic makeover!!! I wish you could come makeover some of my old furniture!
do some people just really enjoy being negative? what a waste of energy. if you have something nice or constructive to say, go ahead and post it. i thought we were all here because we have a common interest and it would be nice to support each other in that?
i think this project looks great!
I don't think it's that they enjoy being negative. When someone posts a project and allows comments on it, I think honest feedback is to be expected. Most people are just suggesting other things that could be done. Not everyone has to like everything and I doubt anyone has ever done anything that everyone out there is going to like. Support isn't just telling people everything is perfect. If you can't take honesty, don't post. That being said, I like what was done here.
love love LOVE!
i had an identical dresser and i've been pushing around ideas for how to refinish it.
your post came at the PERFECT time!
thanks!
Wow, never would have thought to use spray paint on something like this! It looks great! The mid century look is getting a lot of use these days, so I applaud you on steering a little away from it and making something unique! How did you make sure the spray paint was even and non-drippy? I need to know this secret because I'm terrible with spray cans!!
Nice! And for around $20, you can never go wrong. Be proud of your work!
Still can't believe all the snark on here! Anyhoo, I think it looks very chic now. You did a fantastic job. :)
@raeventalyn
"Negativity" can be totally legit and constructive feedback to AT about what readers are (not) interested in and if selected submissions meet a certain standard. If all the ppl who are discontent don't say anything, the editors might assume they are doing very well when they actually are losing readers. Of course, the extent they "have to" listen to the feedback is, well, they don't, but they should still be aware of it.
I love this. It's the sleek look I'm going for on my own dresser, and this just gave me the push I needed to make redoing it a priority. I bought an Ikea Hemnes dresser "as is" in blue, and knew I'd want to repaint it. I am thinking of taking both the 2-tone suggestion above for a little more "pop", and also using spray paint instead of regular paint for ease (it's a pretty dry, flat paint job, but I'll prime first just to be safe. Thanks!
how do you prevent brush strokes?
Beautiful!!!