Miss E’s Dresser Makeover

I would say it’s about time I started sharing some of the home diy projects that have been keeping me busy the past few months, don’t you agree? I will start with this dresser makeover that I did for miss E’s room back in the fall. It was a lovely dresser that was my mother’s when she was little. It was originally a dark stain, but my grandparents painted it white at some point and it stayed that color for a while.

When it came to live in my room when I was a teenager, I left it white too. We repainted it yet another coat of white after I was married and as we moved and moved and moved it became more and more beat up.

There were so many layers of paint on it (because many of the paint jobs happened before you could just look up online on how to do things right you know) that it was really hard to cover up the many spots where it had been banged off. This is a solid piece of wood furniture, so I decided to do some paint stripping and try to get down to the wood. I used CitriStrip to get the paint off and really like this product. It didn’t hurt when I accidentally got it on my skin and it didn’t smell bad. I brushed on a thick coat and waited for the paint to bubble up.

Once it was all bubbly, I grabbed a plastic scraper and started working on it.

There was so much paint and original varnish that I used the CitriStrip two times and even three times on a few places and sanded for a long time, but I still couldn’t get it all off. I was tired of all this by now, so I decided to embrace the chippy bohemian feel that was left.

Since I wanted it to be lighter, I added a coat of Minwax Pickled Oak on top. I was trying for a beachy weathered kind of look. I will be honest. It took a while to grow on me because it wasn’t what I had originally wanted. But after a bit I have grown to love it. The accessories helped complete the look and brought it all together.

I found these cute knobs at Hobby Lobby to put on and the runner is from Anthropologie. I made the leave garland with dried leaves I found at the craft store (I think they are silver dollar eucalyptus leaves) and they add some lovely greenery to the room. The animals and books are also from Anthro and the potted plant and frame are from Marshalls. I’m so close with miss E’s room being all done. It’s been a process, but I have slowly waited to find/make the right pieces to go in there. Hopefully I will get to share the whole room soon. -jess

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