I was so surprised by the outpouring of comments on my post about the dollhouse from Friday! My dad would be have absolutely loved hearing all of the compliments from everyone. A huge thanks to all of you for taking the time to leave a comment, I appreciated every single one!
Now, on with today’s post.
A while back Mr. Q brought home two dressers from the daughter of one of my blog readers. The first was the french provincial dresser that I painted a couple of weeks ago, and the second was this one.
It’s a bit more traditional than the pieces I normally choose to work with, but it’s a solid, well-made dresser. I love giving pieces like this a new lease on life with some paint. This dresser is going to last another 75 years easily. It’s not going to fall apart in 5 years like inexpensive (or sometimes not so inexpensive) new furniture made out of particle board (not that I’m naming names, such as IKEA, or anything).
Ken helped me out with reattaching a drawer glide that had come free, but otherwise it didn’t need much work. Ironically the aspect of this job that took the longest was removing the old contact paper that was lining the drawers.
I wish I had gotten a photo to illustrate, but basically that stuff came out in a million little pieces that I painstakingly scraped off with a razor blade. And it left behind a sticky gooey mess that required a couple of applications of Goo Gone to remove. This is exactly why I rarely choose to line the drawers of dressers that I sell. Because I know that inevitably down the road someone is going to have to get that stuff back out of there and it won’t be fun (and oftentimes that someone is me!). The only time I line drawers is when the drawer bottom is too stained to salvage.
Funny little story though, I slogged through the first 7 drawers one evening after work. Stripping out that liner, cleaning with Goo Gone, removing the hardware, sanding the drawer front and cleaning it with TSP Substitute. I really wanted to finish all nine drawers that evening so I could start painting right away the next evening. But as the sun was setting, I looked at those last two drawers still in the dresser and thought “nope, I just can’t face them, I’ll have to do them tomorrow” and I went to bed. The next evening I went to pull out the first of the remaining two drawers and guess what? It wasn’t lined! Neither was the last drawer. Ha! Had I only looked inside the previous night I would have realized that I could easily prep them before bed. Too funny!
Anyway, the next step was painting and that part was a breeze. I used Fusion paint in a rich, dark grey color called Ash.
I painted two coats of paint, and shortly after the 2nd coat was dry I sanded the edges lightly to distress.
Just the other day my friend Sue was commenting on the fact that a lot of the furniture painters out there don’t distress their pieces. She and I are of the same mind when it comes to distressing. We are not fans of non-distressed pieces. The only time I don’t distress is when I’m working on a mid-century modern piece with really clean lines. Otherwise, in my opinion distressing is what really brings out the character of a piece. I know it’s a personal preference thing though, and it just happens to be my preference (and Sue’s!).
One tip, you absolutely don’t need to add a topcoat over Fusion paint, but when I distress the edges I’ll often put a little Homestead House or Miss Mustard Seed beeswax on a cloth and run that over those exposed edges. It will help protect that little bit of bare wood, but more importantly it will take away the ‘freshly sanded’ look of the wood and make it look more as though it was worn over time.
I have to tell you, I did absolutely nothing to the drawer pulls. I didn’t polish them or even really clean them. Yet this next photo really shows how different they look on the grey. Isn’t that kinda crazy?
So normally this is the point where I say “this dresser is available for sale”, but no, this one isn’t! My sister stopped by shortly after I finished it, decided she really needed to have it for her new house and asked if she could get a ‘family discount’. Naturally I agreed. I’m pretty thrilled because she’ll be replacing an IKEA dresser with it! My plan is to slowly work on her over time until her whole house is de-IKEA-fied. I’m working on convincing her to replace the console thingie that her T.V. sits on next, but shhhhh, she doesn’t realize it yet so don’t tell her.
q is for quandie 
I like subtle distressing and distress my pieces similar to the way you do. What I can’t stand is the overdistressed look with way too much distressing all over the piece-especially in areas that would not normally distress with time and use- unless a literal bull in a china shop owned it.
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I couldn’t agree more Melissa!
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What is TSP that you often refer to in your posts? The dresser looks amazing & love the color! Thanks!
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Thanks Barbara! TSP is trisodium phosphate. To be specific though, I use TSP Substitute, which is a substitute product that is less toxic than TSP. It’s a degreasing cleaner that works quite well for cleaning pieces before painting them. I buy mine in a spray bottle at my local DIY store (Menards).
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I can’t believe those pulls look so different! Thanks for the tip about beeswax on the distressed edges. I’m ‘Team Distressed’ all the way too! Actually ‘Team Distressed’ maybe isn’t the best name…it wouldn’t look great on a shirt. 😹
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LOL, yeah, probably not the best tagline for a t-shirt 😉
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Pretty color and I love a good sturdy dresser. And yes to lightly distressed, it brings out the details. I am so glad your sister is replacing an IKEA dresser with this piece. I can’t even go into that store without feeling stressed. No soul in that stuff! Oh and you are right, the pulls look great against that stately grey. Are we going to see pictures of your sisters house one day? (Just jumping subjects all over today, wacky spurts of half thoughts)
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My sister just mentioned that the other day … that I haven’t posted about her house yet. I am going to get on it soon. Just have to finish sanding about 25 faux ship lap boards first (today’s project!)
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Beautiful transformation…and I am happy to report that my house is Ikea-free.
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I’m trying to think for a moment … I’m pretty sure my house is IKEA-free, which is not to say that it always has been. I’ve had some IKEA light fixtures in the past but they are gone, and I still have my IKEA plant watering can. I really should trade that out for something more vintage tho!
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How gorgeous. I love Ash and those handles just pop! So happy to hear others are out to de-IKEA-ft the world as well😂😊❤️
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Sound like you need to de-IKEA-ify Australia too, huh?
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I know what you mean about removing contact paper from drawers (and other places!) on old furniture! I discovered that a hair dryer works wonders heating up the glue on contact paper and making removal much easier. I’ve since invested in a heat gun. You may want to give it a try! Just be careful because it gets really hot!
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Very good to know. I even happen to have a workshop hair dryer so I don’t have to use my good one. I’ll keep that in mind for next time, because I’m sure there will be a next time 😉
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Glad Deb got tbat dresser…very, very nice! Love the color! And I’m with you on the distressing…love it.
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Yep, it’s perfect for Debbie. It looks really nice in her room too!
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In defense of IKEA furniture, it serves a purpose whether or not it’s temporary or permanent. Some people can’t afford to purchase anything but IKEA. It’s durable, it’s inexpensive and it looks pretty good. In our case, it was an affordable way to line a wall with bookcases at a price we were willing to pay. It gave the whole wall a sense of continuity that acquiring mismatched bookshelves wouldn’t. It’s sturdy, and we feel it will last for some time. In fact, we filled those and we could use some more for that room, so that is what we will get. This is not to say that I will use IKEA all over the house, because I won’t. So, you can’t knock IKEA for their affordable products and the decision some people make to use them.
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Yes, you are right about that Fonda! In fact, my sister just bought IKEA shelves to use in a closet to hold her craft supplies and they were perfect for that.
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Well you have done it again. Another piece that I think is lovely. Mind you I liked the unpainted dresser too. But Mom probably did too.It is a good thing you do not live too close to as I have just painted two dressers (but did not distress them (yet) well done sweetie. Betty from Ontario, Canada.
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Yet. I hope that means I’ve inspired you to give them just a little bit of distressing Betty! And thanks for calling me sweetie 😉
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Nice results on the chest terribly handsome piece old girl. We’ve discussed this before, I am all about the style and the quality of vintage furniture . But I have seen some pretty amazing Ikea hacks online. And Sarah Richardson, the Canadian designer, has done some wonderful kitchens using their cabinets that she customized of course! However since I have to drive to either 1 1/2 hrs to Charlotte or 3 hrs to Atlanta to visit an Ikea I have only been once. I find a “Craigslist score” exhilarating. I know sad life.
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Gotta love Sarah Richardson. Her lake house on the island was to die for. You are right about the IKEA kitchens, they can be fab. But I’m with you, a Craigslist score wins every time!
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Wow! I see this kind of furniture at the auctions I go to. I also grew up with this style at home. Not something I would go for, but Now that you got your hands on it, it is awesome! Love the way the pulls pop now! Wow
Blessings
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Thanks Shelly! Just goes to show how much difference a little paint can make 🙂
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I really love the dresser and it fits perfectly in my new bedroom. Love all the drawers and the color. I do have a lot of IKEA pieces but now have a bunch of repainted older pieces also. A good mix and I’m sure there will be more of Qs furniture added down the road. And tne family discount doesn’t hurt either.
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I’m betting there will definitely be a few more Q pieces added over time 😉
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Have you ever tried Goof Off instead of Goo Gone? It’s cheaper, leaves no oily residue, and works oh so much better!! The Regular strength is fantastic but the Pro strength rocks like nothing else!! It removes adhesive, stains and much more, It comes in numerous formulae but I’ve never needed anything but the 2 I’ve mentioned. With the Pro, no waiting or scrubbing needed. I can’t rave enough about it! Definitely give it a try.
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I get Goof Off and Goo Gone totally mixed up. But I’ll definitely keep an eye out for the Pro Strength Goof Off, sounds like exactly what I need!
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