A while back one of my readers contacted me to ask if I wanted some old dresser drawers.  If so, she would send them up from Iowa with her son who happens to live in St. Paul.

So I thought, heck, why not?

In the past I’ve turned drawers into … well … what would you call them?  Boxes, I guess.

I simply asked my handyman Ken cut their depth in half or so, and like magic the drawers re-appeared in my workshop at half of their original size (I wish that worked for weight loss too).

Those drawers were a bit more plain on the front (and they had really cool drawer pulls), which made it easy to add interest using transfers.

The drawers in today’s post have a bit more detail to them including a raised panel on the front.

Oh, and full disclosure, that’s not a true ‘before’ photo.  I’d already sent them over to Ken’s workshop to be cut down, having forgotten to take a photo first.

Ken made quick work of cutting the drawers down to only 8″ deep.

To prep the drawers for paint, I removed the knobs and then first cleaned them and gave them a light scuff sanding.  Then I gave them all a coat of Dixie Belle’s Bonding Boss to prevent any stains from bleeding through my paint.

I did end up having to add a 2nd coat of Bonding Boss over some of those stains inside the drawers.  I think that might have been ink.

My q tip for the day, if you still have stains bleeding through your paint after just one coat of Bonding Boss, add a 2nd coat (yes, over your first coat of paint) and be sure to let it dry for at least 24 hours.  That will usually do the trick for tough stains.

I painted up the two smaller drawers first.  I painted the first one in Dixie Belle’s English Ivy, and the 2nd one has English Ivy on the inside and Drop Cloth on the outside.

Then I applied I.O.D.’s Rose Chintz paint inlay to the raised part of the drawer fronts.

I used a spray sealer to seal the paint inlay sections, and then followed that up with Dixie Belle’s clear wax inside and out.

I have to admit, I kind of missed the boat on marketing for these two little boxes because they would have made perfect Mother’s Day gift boxes either filled with flowers …

or with some pretty vintage china.

They are the perfect unique alternative to a gift basket.

For the first of the larger drawers, I simply gave it one coat of Dixie Belle’s Caviar inside and out.  I planned to have a very distressed finish on this one, so one coat was sufficient coverage.

I sanded the heck out of it with some 220 grit sandpaper to rough it up.

After wiping away the dust, I added part of a stencil to the raised section on the front using Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth.

It’s a super simple look, but I like it.

I finished it off with some of the Sweet Pickins Dark Oil Wax.

You may remember that I used this product on the flooring in a couple of my dollhouses.

By the way, sidebar, you may have noticed that I’ve put the Christmas Cottage dollhouse on the back burner for now.  I plan to bring it back out in the fall and finish it up for the Christmas season.

Anyway, I’d recently watched  YouTube video by Jonathan Marc Mendes where he used this topcoat on a piece of furniture that was going outside in his garden.  He suggested that the Oil Wax would provide reasonable protection for something going outside since it will repel water.  So I thought I’d give it a shot.

If you don’t have a window box, this would be a fun way to add one (if adding live plants, be sure to drill some drainage holes into the bottom of the box/drawer).

Of course, the box would hold up better in a protected location like on an enclosed porch.  But who cares if it only lasts for a season or two if you put it outside?

You may have already noticed that I used some of my lilacs to stage the photos of this drawer.

If you’ve been following me for long, you know I’ve struggled with my lilac hedge.  But I’ve decided to give it yet another chance.  I do love the flowers, although it’s unfortunate that they only stick around for a couple of weeks.  I found a few more Common Lilacs at my local Fleet Farm earlier this spring and I popped those in hoping that they’ll fill in where the fancy hybrids have gotten straggly.  We’ll see how it goes.

Now, as for the 4th and final drawer, I think I’m going to hang onto that one for the Christmas holiday season.  You’ll just have to stay tuned … for quite some time … to see how that one turns out.

Leave a comment and let me know what you think of my drawer/boxes!  What would you do with one of them?