This type of painted dresser is a perennial favorite at many home stores, and therefore at many secondhand stores. Despite the wonderful shape and curving legs, the overall look was just not Lori's style. Thankfully, she had an inspiration photo saved on Pinterest that helped her transform this piece to better fit her home.
Though the inspiration dresser was designed to call to mind a billiard room, Lori immediately found herself thinking instead of her husband's sporty red race car. She covered up the floral motif by painting the entire dresser black, then used an overhead projector to help hand paint the pinstripe and number dot. Finally, she painted the knobs to match the background so they seem to disappear into the piece.
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Well done and very sporty.
Love it!
Making a curvy dresser "manly" isn't something that would ever occur to me. Fun!
I agree with Roberto it was better before. Nice work nevertheless.
Different! I would have done something with the knobs too, opaque glass in the corresponding colors that they're currently painted. Otherwise it's pretty nifty!
Very cool, though it's funny to think that in ten or twenty years the thrift stores will be loaded with furniture sporting funny paint jobs and the new "before and after" posts will feature lots of stripped and refinished wood. This is joy a dig - I'm all for customizing furniture. I just don't see permanence in this trend.
Well....it's definitely a transformation. I don't care for either of them, though.
...this is *not* a dig. Damn autocorrect.
Prefer the before.
Great job on the after, but I also prefer before. =) just a personal taste.
At least it isn't Kelly green lacquer. LOL. I like it. Not my style, but quirky and well done IMO.
I like this! Yay for a quality job! It's not my style- but it's unique and done well.
And I'm with sealbeachy- at least it isn't kelly green!!
The "before" looks more like a HomeGoods special than a genuine antique--I don't think painting it was a crime. This is creative and suits the owner's style; a touch of whimsy can lighten an entire room. Points for creativity and quality of execution. I don't have to have similar taste to appreciate restyles.
It wasn't a priceless antique. It was a mass-produced piece of furniture that was probably from a HomeGoods type place.
I love it!
I love it! Excellent painting skills, too. In a way, the retro shape of the dresser mimics an old race car too!
Although the Before style is not a style I love, I think it was better.
Seem this at Sweetpea and willow, the original version was curvier and nicer http://www.sweetpeaandwillow.com/p2360/Numbers-Up-Bombe-Chest/product_info.html
Wow, I was not expecting the after style! Funky!
lol, with the bottle on the top I am reminded of a Vermont Castings stove...
LOVE it!
Not a fan of either one but love the lines of the dresser. So if I had to choose, I would have kept the 'before' but I always appreciate when someone puts in so much time and effort into a piece to make it there own.
I think the before suits the style better. This is the equivalent of furniture cross-dressing. I will give an A for the execution, however.
I think this was a wonderful before and after! what a vision it takes to imagine such a completely different style paint work. Nice job!!
This is a great combination of the feminine and masculine. The before is ordinary and predictable. The after is funky, personalized, and very well executed! I like the idea that people are wanting to personalize the items they live with rather than decorating with the same stuff everyone else has or trying to make their homes look like the page of a catalog. It's paint...it can be removed, added, and redone as many times as you want. So the next person who owns this piece of furniture will change it...so what? That's the beauty of paint. You can make something uniquely your own. You can't please everyone but as long as it pleases YOU that's all that matters.
Very cool!
@DEFAULTNAME, I agree 100%. I like her inspiration, but the final piece misses the mark for me.
Oh geeze, the negative but constructive comment I just responded to disappeared in the amount of time it took me to respond to it.
Apartment Therapy, PUL-EEZE don't turn this isn't another post where any dissenting opinion gets deleted. Thoughtfully explaining why you don't like someone's work is not the same as attacking them.
agh, sorry, I'm typing rage-induced nonsense. Meant to write: the negative but constructive comment I just posted disappeared in the amount of time it took me to refresh the page and see a response to it.
Before I read the commentary, I thought it was supposed to be a giant 8 ball and was somewhat confused by the numbering! :P
love it!
Why would one paint such a beautiful "before"? Prefer the before, but I appreciate the effort and thought behind the after.
Different. Interesting. I like it.
Don't mind the critics. The AFTER is way better. We've all seen the BEFORE a million times as an AFTER. What you did here was great. A+++
Good job! I totally see the inspiration here. Second the commenter who mentioned not seeing how this could turn manly, yet it did!
Oh no she/he didn't!
A good job but it was already SUCH a beautiful dresser! I always think "couldn't that item be preserved for someone who appreciates it as is and an alternative found?". Only because someone else would have gone through the effort to paint it in the first place (and there didn't seem to be anything wrong with it).
^That's just my opinion and my thoughts though. Please don't take offence!
If she's happy with it, that's really all that matters. Neither one is my personal taste, but the before was much better suited to the style imo.
I had a similar dresser in my shop that I sold three months ago for $400. It pays to do your research BEFORE you paint!
Your paint job makes me want to cry.
I prefer the "before" even if it WAS a HomeGoods special. The Rosemaling (even if faux) suites the shape. I don't agree with those who love the masculine/feminine contrast -- to me it's more of a conflict.
If I had the piece and it were in scuffed or other condition that called for re-painting, I think this is one where a light color (probably gloss white) or even a metallic finish (silver leaf?) would make more sense. Just my opinion.
I do not want to leave negative comments so:
considering the After picture, I say that is an awesome job!!!
Original and exciting, beautifully done. I got the billiard-ball reference instantly. The testimony to the success of this is that I don't like words or numbers showing on my clothes or decor, and I have a limited appetite for black, yet I can't help admiring this.
The original is trying to be something it's not. Somehow the new version just IS something it's not -- in a good way.
Great job, and original!. The before was a bit fussy for my taste, so I like that you toned down the Grandma-esque-ness of it.
While I like both the before and after versions, the after would fit much better into my quirky home. Good on ya for creating something that works well for you!
after all the way! it definitely just POPS and it's the kind of thing I would do a double take at and go over to examine. cute cute cute! congrats.
Didn't see that coming. I like it!
unexpected...personal...creative! i love the juxtaposition of the traditional style with the modern painted finish!
brilliant!!
It's a stunning makeover. Stunning. The knobs are perfect, the design creative and unique, and, in my opinion, a very BOLD move. Modern and fresh.
I love it! Doing something others might not do often ruffles feathers, but sticking true to your own vision and ideas is the right thing to do!
I would love this at my place.
Like that it's different and that she took a risk...I prefer the casual look to the more refined any day. Nice work!
I love this, thank you for sharing!
super fugly.... but the execution is great.
I'm always amazed at the amount of people who feel the need to express what they don't like on this site.
That being said....your finished dresser is AWESOME.
I wish I had your talent and vision to take something so "old lady" and make it fresh, young, and just plain fun.
Thanks for sharing this project.