Furniture refinishing is quickly becoming one of my favorite ways to personalize our new home and make stylish impact at a low expense. Caleb’s mom found an old dresser and asked if we wanted it for our new home. When she texted me the photos I immediately had high hopes for what I could turn it into!

At our old home, we had two separate closests, two dressers, and a TV stand in our master bedroom. At our new home, I am really striving to be able to live with as little as possible and eliminate clutter. When I took the measurements of our bedroom, I realized we could consolidate all of our clothing into this dresser & it could still double as our TV stand. I am all about maximizing the space and light in our space!

I knew I wanted this dresser to imitate the midcentury modern two-toned vibe. When we were at Menards, I decided I would try Rust-Oleum Chalked Ultra Matte Paint in order to achieve the higher-end finished look I wanted for our new dresser. I have used chalk paint in the past, but never from a spray can.

For the dresser preparation I removed the old hardware, removed the drawers, and filled the old holes with putty.

I used 220 grit sandpaper and sanded all the edges to rough-up and remove some of the glossy varnish by hand, before giving it a quick wipe down.

Now time for paint. Shake. Shake. Shake. Shake.

I have never worked with chalk paint from a spray can before so I did not know what to expect, but I can describe the texture as thicker, creamier and richer than standard latex paint. Needs A LOT more shaking than other spray paints I have used.  I advise to spray while constantly moving with consistently even strokes. If you hold still in one area for too long it gets soupy and starts forming pools and bubbles.

Once dry, I went over the faces and edges with 800 grit sandpaper by hand. Then repeated the painting process and sanding two more times.

For the hardware, Caleb and I went to target and decided to go with something minimalistic, but we wanted an accent color to match some of the other entities of our bedroom. I am (and always have been) into the minimal/modern aesthetic. I think the gold knobs from Target achieve just the look I was going for. I vacuumed and wiped down the insides and outsides one last time before putting them into the dresser.

I am so in love with how well the handles turned out – they match our mustard throw on the end of our bed perfectly!

Our bedroom is the ideal spot to unwind after a long day of shooting or editing (or at the office, for Caleb) — though, with large sun kissed windows and a super plush pallet, who would ever want to get out of that bed!?!

What do you guys think of this makeover? Not bad for an old dresser given to me for free, eh?

Bedroom Details
Curtains: West Elm Cotton Canvas Scribble Lattice Curtain – Midnight Blue
Bed Quilt: Target The Industrial Shop. Wedding shower gift from Mrs. Lori!
Side Table: TJ Maxx. Caleb got this for me our first Christmas together. Bumble’s tank was on it at my old apartment on Allis St.
Kenzo Dog Bed:  AKC Memory Foam Dog Bed, X-Large Gray
Stag Head Jewelry Holder: Gift from a client. 🙂 Thank you Lauren!
Mustard Bed Throw: Target
Bedsheets: Target Threshold Gray Flannel . Wedding shower gift from Mrs. Lori!
Spoon Poster : We were in the 4th row for the Spoon concert and afterwards we met and he signed my bicycle helmet (we rode our bikes that evening.)  We bought the poster to remember such an incredible evening. Last year, Caleb surprised me and had it professionally framed as a Christmas gift.
Side Table Lamp: Pottery Barn Photographer’s Task Table Lamp 
Camera Pillow: Gift from a client. 🙂 Thank you Lis!