18 September 2012

I do not like them, Sam-I-Am. - DIY Refinished Dresser

Although it may be hard to believe, occasionally I put down my knitting needles.  Usually I spend the needle-less time cleaning my house or feeding my children, who always seem to want to eat just a few hours after I have just fed them.  I just gave you food, yesterday! But, this week I neglected the house (don't worry, I did feed the littles) and finished a project long in the making.

You see, shortly after Atticus was born I began frantically looking for a dresser for him.  The poor boy needed very little coming into this family of boys. We had all the clothes, all the toys, all the diapers, all the everything that any little boy baby could need.  But, my poor sweet boy did not have a place for all the everything! We only have two dressers in our house, one for me and one for the boys.  Everything else is stuffed into closets. So, in those days after his birth when I was sitting around enjoying my baby I desperately searched for a new dresser for him so that his clothes and diapers didn't need to sit in a laundry basket on the floor permanently.

I found this cool old dresser on Kijiji for $60. I sent my wonderful husband out late one night after work to pick it up, because I NEEDED it, right then!!!  (Have I mentioned lately that I love that man? Because I do!) I wish I had taken a before picture, but I didn't.  The dresser was well over 100 years old and in pretty rough shape.  The drawers were falling apart and there scratches and gouges all over the surface.  If it had been a family heirloom I may have tried to keep it in it's original state, but it wasn't, so I told Jared my vision of what I wanted it to become and left it at that. And, there it has sat for four months in our garage. (Did I mention how desperately I needed the dresser?) 

Then, this summer while I was away in Sandpoint, Jared got busy and finished it for me. He's a dream!


Maybe you cannot appreciate the transformation, but it is amazing.  It was unpainted, with a solid wood top.  He stripped the whole thing, glued together the drawers, took off the top and made a new one, repainted, stained the top, and put back on all the hardware.  Love?  Yes!

But, one problem still remained.  While the drawers were definitely more solid, they were still very gross.  Check this out:


They were stained and dirty, and not a place I wanted to lay my baby's wardrobe.

So, with all my creative powers combined, I refinished the inside of the dresser, and here's what I came up with:


Okay, the sides of the drawers could use a little love, but honestly, I'm totally in love and may just cut up all my Dr Seuss books and Mod Podge my entire house!

That's right. I cut apart an old copy of Green Eggs and Ham and with a whole pot of Mod Podge I lined the drawers (after I painted the sides a bright yellow, which I love!)



I may or may not have opened and shut the drawers about 30 times today, waking Atticus from his nap once just to take a peak inside those drawers! And, putting away laundry has never been so rewarding, I promise.

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