DIY Manly Bachelor Dresser

Furniture often finds me through friends or just waving on the side of the road.  They come in all shapes and sizes, but mostly it's dressers and desks that find me.  This solid baby was already half stripped when the previous owner gave up on him.  With all the drawers intact, and it being a very solid piece, there weren't any repairs to be done except completely the sanding.  Rather than strip the rest of the dresser, I added paint to the finished areas and new hardware to the drawers.

 Dovetail drawers, that are solidly still being held together are the reason this dresser had to be saved and find a new home.  Look at those solid joints!

 After sanding and re-staining the top, I taped it off and began painting the sides and dividers in a dark smoky blue.  With the drawers freshly stained to match the top, new hardware was added to complete the look.

Look at those knots and natural grain in the top!

Paint brought out the details in dresser while making them more masculine

The finished dresser

Within a day of listing the dresser for sale, it was snapped up by a young man starting out on his own.  It left for a bachelor pad,...just as planned.

Nautical Night Table (anchor motif)

Lately, I have been rescuing furniture from frustrated furniture painters rather than the curb. It seems they beat me to the "curb alerts" only to give up when they don't know what to do with their findings.  This was one such giveaway.  The original night table didn't look that bad but it came to me already primed and the drawer pulls were already spray painted silver. 


Stock photo from Google of the original night table

With summer fast approaching (this was May) I decided to go for the nautical look and just finish the paint job.  Not knowing the kind of wood underneath the primer, I wasn't willing to strip it all down.  So I continued with an off white paint and a medium gray for the anchor.  Nautical rope from ACMoore was used for the drawer pulls to comeplete the night table.

The anchor was hand-painted on both sides

Although I thought it would be perfect for a beach house, it was purchased by a mother who had just redone her toddler's bedroom into a shark/nautical theme.  Sweet dreams young boy and enjoy the new night table!