Before & After: A Shabby Dresser Gets Chic

Jennifer Hunter

published May 13, 2014

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When they moved in together, Jamielynn’s boyfriend Jason insisted they keep this old dresser. She agreed on one condion: that they spruce it up. Well, spruce they did.

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(Image credit: Jamielynn Cowart )

Jamielynn says:

The first thing I discovered was a plaque inside the top draw that read ‘F. S. Harmon Manufacturing Co. Tacoma, Washington’ which coincidentally is my hometown. That warmed me up to this rather time consuming project. I unscrewed the knobs and discovered they were beautiful original brass fixtures covered in about 8 layers of paint. There also was brass plates on the drawer fronts that took some serious polishing. We used environmentally friendly Ready-Strip for the paint, some serious muscle and an orbit sander. Then we chose a Varathane brand dark walnut stain and semi-gloss polyurethane to get this restored look. This was my second DIY project and I couldn’t be happier with the results.

Thank you Jason & Jamielynn!