Saturday, March 12, 2011

Spring Green Dresser

I'd had my eye on this dresser at The Salvation Army for a few weeks, but the price tag was a bit pricey.

When I dropped by a week later, I had a special surprise!

After sanding, I primed it with Kilz spray.  This is great stuff!
Kilz leaves a bumpy surface, but a super light sanding with 220 grit or so smoothes it right out!

I've been wanting to do a green piece, so when I found this green misint at Lowes, I was feeling pretty lucky!

I was dying to use my spray gun.  It was barely 40 degrees out, but it felt so much warmer because the sun was shining!  The man at Sherwin-Williams told me it needs to be at least 50 degrees to spray, but I was willing to take my chances!  I'd had it with my brush and roller!

So, um...anyways...this is what may happen to paint when spray gun temperature recommendations are not followed.  :)
Paint warts, I think, is what I shall call them! :)

It was actually not a big deal because the bubbles (and there really weren't that many of them) were in places that looked just fine getting sanded down as part of the distressing.  Unless the paint falls off next week, I'm going to say the spraying was totally worth it!

I used my mouse sander and heavily distressed all the edges.

Next I mixed up and applied white glaze with a cloth.
 
I also used my sponge brush and dry brushed on a little extra of the glaze mixture, just to add heavier glazing here and there.

Two coats of Minwax Wipe-On Poly was used to finish off the lower part of the dresser.

I decided to give the top of the dresser a nice whitewash.  It had already been stripped by the previous owner, so all I had to do for prep work was sand with 220 and 320 grit.

I used a water/paint/glaze mixture.  I didn't measure, but it was approximately 60/40  water/paint with a little glaze mixed in.  I added the glaze to the mix to allow more time to work the mixture into the wood and blend with each area I covered. 

 I brushed a very thin layer of the mixture into the wood with a two inch sponge brush.  It worked great!
It looks quite blotchy and uneven before it dries because the wood is still absorbing the mixture, but chances are it will even out more as it dries.

The next morning I applied wax using cheesecloth. 
Cheesecloth works really well and makes it easier to lay down a thin even coat.

Next I used a buffing pad to blend out the the wax.  It looked pretty, but the buffer leaves scratches in the wax.  A while back, Christa over at Stories of a House had recommended using Meguiar's Ultimate Compound to buff out scratch marks. 
That's right, it's a car product, but it works!

I sanded, primed and sprayed the original pulls a hammered brown.  Then, I mixed up some white paint and a pinch of glaze. Using a little paint brush, I covered the pulls with the white mixture and wiped it off lightly with a damp cloth.  Here are the stages of the pulls~

 I gave the pulls a protective covering with this~

I decided not to paint and line the drawers on this dresser because the inside of the drawers were in pristine condition, and most importantly, there were NINE drawers!  That would have taken me forever!!!  :)

Now for the fun part.  Here's what the dresser looked like when it lived at the thrift store~

....and now~


 The whitewashed top shows and highlights the woodgrain but hides little imperfections...







Spring is just around the corner!!!  :)

53 comments:

Cassie Bustamante said...

it all worked out for you! it looks beautiful, and i love that hardware! the color is wonderful and has me wanting warmer weather and green leaves on the trees!

Sharon @ Elizabeth & Co. said...

Oh wow! I'm not even sure where to start. First of all, yeah on getting a good deal. Love that shade of green, another good deal. You got to use your paint sprayer and used the paint warts to your advantage - smart girl. You used my absolute favorite glaze and even added white to it - oh yes. Then you did an amazing job of distressing. Love the white top and the hardware too. Plus you used my favorite wax. And on top of all that, you wrote an awesome tutorial - I love details. Can you tell that I love everything about this project? Way to go Kim, you rock!

Unknown said...

great job love the color. love the distressing.

Tammy @ Type A said...

looks great, love the color. i have a party on tuesday please share this! http://typeadecorating.blogspot.com/

Cathy said...

50% day, how I love you! Great deal on this awesome dresser! And I love what you did with it, so unique!

Nikki said...

This color is so great! I love it...why have I never thought to glaze a lighter color? woah, thanks for the awesome inspiration!

Anonymous said...

I really enjoyed your step by step tutorial on this dresser re-do. Great color and it turned out wonderful...Thanx for sharing. Visit me sometimes. Tiff

Artichoke Alley said...

Love the green! I have green on the mind here too and will be working it in this week. Great tutorial too! Thanks!

Vivienne @ the V Spot said...

Oh that looks great! Great lines and I'm glad you got a deal. Dontcha love when that happens?! :)

Anonymous said...

You did a beautiful makeover on this! I was not sure on the green when I first saw it on the can but, Oh my gosh... the after is stunning! I love the hardware and everything about it!
xox

Chrissie said...

I have really been wanting to do a green piece too!~ I love it,the distressing is awesome! Paint warts LOL!

Unknown said...

Wow! the green with the white glaze is fantastic. I really like the glaze on the hardware. Very unique.

If I every finish in the bathroom I will be getting out my sprayer.

Traci

Kathy@ Gone North said...

WOW!!! Beautiful job! Great transformation!!
The green is perfect. Thanks for showing us how.

Angela said...

I love, love, your dresser, it turned out amazing, the colour is just right.
oxoxo
Angela.

Becca Bertotti said...

So pretty ... what a transformation! I continue to be amazed by you wonderfully talented women who can perform magic on pieces. I'm dipping my toe into this ... I'm saving your tutorial! And, am a new follower. *Becca*

www.adventuresindecorating1.blogspot.com

laxsupermom said...

Wow! Amazing transformation! Love the new paint job! The green is such a happy color. Thanks for sharing.

Debra@Dejarenew.blogspot.com said...

Beautiful and I love the top of the dresser. Wow.

Deb @ Dejarenew

The Vintage Barn said...

That looks awesome! I love that limey green color. When you're heavily distressing like that do you use an orbital sander or detail sander? I'm always having problems with the sander jumping across where I don't want it to go! LOL!
Nancy

Allison@FabRehab said...

Oh Kim. I absolutely LOVE it. I love the tutorial too!

Unknown said...

I love it its gorgeous!!:)

Richmond Thrifter said...

Looks great!!! Love the color and the distressing!

Anonymous said...

Great transformation. Love it. Also really love your blogs-my first time here. I will be back!

Ribbonwood Cottage said...

I agree with EVERYONE! What an awesome transformation...I want to do this! I love that shade of green and you will have so much fun decorating it for every season!
Blessings,
Debbie

Unknown said...

Absolutely beautiful!! Glad I stumbled upon your blog, happy to be a new follower. I invite you to link your project to my blog bash K.I.S.S. :)

Drop by The Tattered Tag

Doubletake Decor said...

AMAZING! The pulls, the whitewashed top, the color, everything is perfect!

Rachel @the house redeemed said...

It's beautiful!! I'm just green with envy :)

Ali Richardson said...

Gorgeous!! SO SO pretty and perfect for Spring :)

Debbie Moore said...

Gprgeous! I am always so afarid of saying goodbte to that niced stained finish but this is beautiful!

A Vintage Vine said...

Green was a great choice, 50 off, way to go! I bet the smile was hard to wipe off!!!

Little Miss Penny Wenny said...

Kim that looks fabulous! I love the lighter glaze- great work!

Cindy said...

it looks great, kim.....just in time for st. patricks day with the green!!! i love the white finish and the hardware is gorgeous....

hugs, cindy

Between Blue and Yellow said...

This is lovely, it was meant to be yours! Great job :)

Shawn said...

I love it....looks like a piece you would find at a high-end store!!

Suzanne said...

Wow... Another stunning piece of furniture!! You keep turning out wonderful furniture with such personality. The BEST!! I can't wait to see the next Art Piece....

hilary@oldhousetruelove said...

I LOVE IT!!!! FUN COLOR!

Love the Decor! said...

Oh my goodness I love this!!!

Sarah said...

It turned out so cool, great job!

Anna said...

it looks so beautiful! great job!

Katie @ EyeSpyDIY said...

Super cute, what a great green color you got!

kara@elements-interiors.net said...

I LOVE this! Come on ova' and link up to WHASSUP!!! xoxokara




*ENTER LINKY PAR-TAY Here! *

Allison Shops said...

Great changes, and a wonderful job distressing. Dropping by from Furniture Feature Friday.

Allison
Atticmag

Caroline (Piorra Maison) said...

Looks beautiful. love the distressing.

Erin W said...

That is absolutely GORGEOUS!!! Love, Love LOVE! Now I want one :)
Great job!!!

Unknown said...

love the way the dresser turned out. and love the finish. a very unique look

Unknown said...

Green is hot this season, isn't it? But I love the whitewash on this piece. Kicks the green back a bit - just enough - and is perfect with the distressing.

Guess I need to head back over to the thrift store now ;)

liz @ bon temps beignet said...

Hi Kim! I'm your neighbor from Funky Junk... Thanks for the sweet comment on my chevron box. Your dresser turned out beautiful! I really love the pulls.

Raine and Sage said...

Hi Kim! Wow what a remarkable makeover. This is simply gorgeous, I love the colour and finish you did. Thanks for your lovely comment too.
Sonia :)

Debbie's Garden said...

to come across this is perfectly timed for me! I have a dresser very similar that I'm going to paint. I have a spare bedroom in all whites/creams and was going to do it in white, but I love your color with white wash. Love the super distressing too. You left out one thing for us. Timeframe for this whole project.

Katie @ OhhBaby said...

It looks beautiful! great job!

Teresa@Much-A-Do said...

That is such an amazing transformation. You never fail to wow me with your latest project! Great job!

Serendipity Chic Design said...

Soooo PERFECT Kim...I just love green painted pieces....

Take care,
Lisa

gail@My Repurposed Life said...

great deal! super tute! I love how this turned out!
green=hopes of spring!
gail

Zane Wooder said...

I didn't think it would look good in green but it really does.

zane

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