I know others have a lot of success re-painting an already painted piece of furniture, but I really try to avoid it.  I don’t like stripping paint, I find it time consuming and messy.  I also don’t like painting over latex with milk paint.  It can be done, but it gets even more unpredictable than usual.  I’m also kind of picky about the color of an undercoat that is sure to show through whatever I put on top of it, at least on the distressed edges.  So, keeping all of those factors in mind, I usually pass on already painted pieces.

However, last winter after probably one too many cocktails in Las Vegas, I texted Mr. Q and sent him off to pick up a dresser/nightstand combo while I was off visiting my mom.  They were already painted white.  But I thought I could work with the white.

Here is what they looked like when I got them.

They came as a pair, so I was stuck with the chunky nightstand, even though it obviously doesn’t really match the dresser and it’s not something I would normally grab.  As for the dresser,  the hardware was all wrong, the existing white paint job was poorly done and, you can’t see it here, but there is a coat of garish green under the white.

Upon returning from Las Vegas I took a look at them, and then promptly stored them in nnK’s garage for several months and forgot all about them (sorry nnK).

I brought them back over to my place earlier this summer though, and still couldn’t find the motivation to work on them.  Finally, I told myself that I had to get these done before my sale.  Nothing like a deadline to get my mojo going.  I decided to work with the white by freshening it up with a coat of American Paint Company’s mineral/chalk paint in Navajo White.  The next step was to add a stripe to the drawer fronts using Annie Sloan’s Louis Blue.

I started with the night stand.  I used yellow Frog tape (the one for delicate surfaces), taped off some stripes on the drawer front, painted the blue, and pulled off the tape.  Ack!  The tape pulled the paint off right down the to wood.  I am guessing this is because the original paint used on this piece was probably latex.  And it didn’t stick.  In the end, I just touched up the paint, added some Louis Blue to the top, added a vintage glass knob and called it good.

It has a sort of beachy vibe, don’t you think?

Definitely not my best work ever, but hopefully someone out there will want a beachy keen nightstand.

Meanwhile, there was no way I was going to try using tape on the dresser, so I went back to the drawing board.  It then occurred to me that I should get out my stencils.  Duh.  Why didn’t I think of this sooner?

And voila!  The finished dresser.

Seriously, isn’t it amazing what a fresh coat of chalk paint, some stenciling, and some new hardware can do for a dresser?

Here is a peek at the inside.

I’m thinking maybe I should have numbered those interior drawers.

What do you think?  Should I add numbers?

You may have caught a glimpse of this tiny dresser that I used for staging …

Yes, my addiction to tiny furniture continues.  I plan to paint this one too … but maybe after the Carriage House sale!