With baby #2 was on its way, it was time to focus on the nursery situation. Since Brielle was due to outgrow the crib within due time, we didn’t want to spend money on another crib/changing table set. Instead I proposed we redo Derek’s old dresser set he grew up using that were currently sitting collecting dust at his dad’s house and put them in Brielle’s room.
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These dressers were made of real wood and still in great condition. Just, in my opinion, a little outdated for the look of her current grey, pink and white nursery. I planned to lose the hutch on top and use the longer one as a changing table and enjoy the extra storage with a second higher dresser nearby. Check out our full nursery dresser makeover!
After removing the gold hardware and giving the dressers a good cleaning to remove the dust and dirt, we Derek set out to prime these bad boys. In doing some research we decided to use this Valspar Stainblocking Bonding primer without sanding first. It specifically listed that it seals to glossy surfaces and was a heavy-duty stainblocker and reviews seemed to back this up. I hope we don’t regret this non sanding decision but I’ll let you know in a few years!
Derek focused on giving the dressers two light coats and it was already looking better than before!
Next up was the paint!
Since we were planning to put a sealer on top, we chose a matte finish Valspar Ultra white paint to keep with the white furniture theme that already looked nice in her room. Two coats later and I’m loving how it looks!
After those coats thoroughly dried, we opted to add Minwax Polycrylic Protective Finish on top to help protect the paint finish. I read on many blogs how a polyacrylic was a better option than a polyurethane which tends to yellow on lighter color paints. Again we went with the good old number two for the amount of coats, making sure to get a full coverage.
Next up were the hardware pieces. The yucky gold wasn’t my taste so I opted for a metallic silver instead. Since we did all our shopping for this project at Lowes, I picked up a can of Rust-oleum Metallic to do the job.
After laying out all the hardware items on a piece of cardboard, Derek applied two light coats over them with adaquent drying time in between. Now these guys were looking like they’d fit in with our pink/white/grey palette!
Once EVERYTHING was dried, all the pieces were reassembled and ready for proper placement in Brielle’s room. I’m so happy to have these “new” pieces in her room for extra storage and make it seem a little more toddler in style.
What a difference a little paint makes to revive some otherwise outdated and unused items!
The glider that was previously in the corner of the room is now over in the baby’s nursery and the DIY Headband hanger is now hung on a different wall in her room. This new taller dresser was topper with the Dream basket given by Jamie and the DIY Yarn wrapped lamp that was rarely ever turned on in it’s old place.
UPDATE: Check out how her toddler room looks now, with these same dressers!
UPDATE: You can also see where the changing table went in her sister’s Under the Sea themed nursery!
This is EXACTLY what I want to do for Jacks nursery! Bookmarked to show to my boyfriend!
It was much easier than we thought and we LOVE how it turned out! Just took some time with our six coats of prime, paint and sealer :)
If you do this for little Jack I’d love to see the finished product! I’m always looking for submissions for a “Reader’s Feature” I hope to showcase this year!
I want a smooth finish on our dresser. I was wondering what tools you used to paint and what type of finish you got.
Hi Gloria! We use just a regular paintbrush, not a roller and it’s very smooth! It helped that the surface we were painting on was smooth in the first place. Good luck on your project! please share it once it’s complete. I’d love to see.
Thank you!
Wondering how it’s held up a few years later?
It’s been 8 years and still in her now big girl bedroom! The spray paint on the handles has worn just a little but the white on the dressers themselves look great.
You can see some of it in her new bedroom space here: https://spotofteadesigns.com/home-tour-girls-bright-and-colorful-bedroom/