You gotta love a two for one.  In this case, two dressers, one trip.  I saw the first dresser on craigslist and when Mr. Q and I went to pick it up, the buyer just happened to say “you know, I do have another dresser that I want to get rid of.”  I love when people say that.  Usually it’s a good thing … and in this case it definitely was.

I honestly liked the 2nd dresser even better than the one I drove out for.  But I purchased both of them, naturally.

I started with dresser no. 1.  Mr. Q prepped it for me by removing the hardware, sanding it down and cleaning it.  Then I painted it with a custom mix of MMSMP 2 parts Trophy to 1 part Grain Sack.  Now, I could fib here and say I planned this color, but in reality this was the last bit of Trophy I had on hand with a little Grain Sack mixed in to make it stretch for the entire dresser.  In the end, I think it worked well for me.  The grey is gorgeous.

As I was digging through my stencils the other day, I came across this damask stencil.  I had forgotten all about it!  I just knew it would be perfect for an overall stencil on the drawer fronts of this dresser.  The pattern of the stencil almost mirrors the design on the backboard perfectly.

I used Martha Stewart craft paint in Lake Fog to do the stenciling.  It might just be my own opinion, but I think this sort of stencil looks best as an overall pattern filling in all of the space on the drawer fronts from edge to edge rather than just a centered pattern down the middle.  I feel the same way about the french poem stencil that I have.  In fact … I might just be bringing that one out of semi-retirement soon.

Once the stencil was complete and dry, I sanded everything lightly and finished with hemp oil.

I had planned to keep the original hardware, which is actually quite lovely.  But once I saw the results of the stenciling I knew that I needed some hardware that didn’t visually compete.  These clear knobs do the job perfectly.  They are nearly invisible in fact.  I’ll save the other hardware for another dresser.

 In some of these close up photos, you can see that this was another crackled milk paint finish.  I am starting think my theory about humidity might be right.  It was quite humid when I painted this one.  Have any of you had any experience with MMSMP giving you more of a crackled finish when you paint in humid conditions?

This dresser is more petite than it looks in pictures by itself.  I paired it up with my cane back chair to give you an idea of the size.

This dresser would work well next to a tall bed as an alternative to a traditional nightstand.  Or wouldn’t it be lovely in a baby’s room?  There are so many options for a versatile dresser like this one.

So how about it?  Anyone out there need a lovely little stenciled dresser?  This one is for sale, if interested email me for the particulars.

Meanwhile, stay tuned to find out what I did with dresser no. 2!