Before & After: A Dated, Rhinestone Covered Dresser Gets a DIY Makeunder
Meghan needed a new dresser but couldn’t bring herself to buy one, when her gut was telling her there was a used one to be had floating out in the universe. She found one, and it seems like it had one hell of a previous life, since it was covered in rhinestones and wallpaper. She decided that with just a little love and attention she could spiff the dresser into a piece that was more to her tastes.
From Meghan: I found this chest of drawers at the Salvation Army for £10 ($13). It was covered in gold paint, wallpaper and rhinestones, but it was a good size, had smooth running dove-tailed drawers, and was all wood underneath.
I needed a new chest of drawers, but couldn’t face spending a small fortune on a new piece when I live in the land of cheap, vintage, solid wood cast-offs.
This took about three weeks to do. I sanded the whole thing to within an inch of its life after removing the wallpaper and rhinestones. Unfortunately, the wood on top and down the sides was chipped, which I discovered when I got all the paper off, and there were three sets of holes in the drawer fronts, all of which I had to fill using wood filler. I painted the sides and top white, which was always my plan, but I couldn’t get the wood filler stained to match, so decided to paint a colorful design on the drawer fronts to hide the repairs — teal triangles! I used tape as a stencil for the triangles, but my paint bled so I just freehand widened my triangles a bit using a tiny detail brush. I added new handles and legs and voila!
I love how this old chest of drawers got a new lease on life, and how I was able to customize this piece for my space. I love how the triangles came out!
Meghan’s words of wisdom: Treat the surface of the wood before painting to avoid bleeding, and don’t be afraid to make mistakes or try out something new and bold! Adapt to surprises, there will be some for sure.
Thank you, Meghan!