Hi friends! Welcome to day #23 of my March Madness, 31 Thrifty Makeovers in 31 Days series!
Today I’m excited to be sharing part of my parent’s surprise bedroom set makeover. It’s an oak set that they’ve had for as long as I can remember. My Mom has been trying to sweet talk me into painting this set for the better part of the last year. Of course I would do anything for my Mom, but this set was going to take time, and it just never seemed to be the right time. Then a couple of weekends ago when she announced that she and my Dad were going to my brother’s house in SC to help watch their cutie pie five month old while they move, I knew I had the perfect opportunity to surprise her!
I headed over to her house on an icy/sleet filled Thursday night to get started. They left that afternoon and I knew I was going to need all the time I could get.
I painted four pieces: her dresser, my Dad’s dresser, and two night stands.
First up is her dresser:
This entire set was still in perfect condition and they paid good money for it, but it was just not the look my Mom wanted any longer in this space. (This picture makes this dresser look much better than it actually looks in person!)
It’s nothing that my good ole Cottage White DIY chalk paint couldn’t fix…
It looks like a totally new dresser! (The piece in the background is the true before color.)
Adding the feet really helped with this update also:
I purchased these at Home Depot for $10 each. Later I learned that Lowe’s has ones very similar, but a bit slimmer for $7 a piece.
I changed out the dated brass and wood handles for these that I found at Hobby Lobby:
They originally had a brassy finish, but I spray painted them with Rustoleum’s Heirloom white, and sanded each one a bit to age them. Would you believe they had all but one that I needed to complete this makeover? I had to add the final pull later. Now they’re perfect!
The center doors got simple glass knobs. I kept the brassy plates that had been there, just spray painted them.
I only sanded lightly as my Mom is not a fan of overly distressed pieces. I followed up with a coat of Annie Sloan’s clear soft wax to seal.
It really turned out better than I thought it could.
There are too many photos to fit everything into one post, so I’ll be keeping you in suspense for one more day before I share the rest. I know, I’m mean…Sorry! I’ll also tell you how my plans got derailed and my Mom’s reaction to the surprise!
Hey! Guess what? See the rest here now! 🙂
If you missed any posts in this fun March Madness series, you can catch up here:
3. Flea Market Swap: Fabric Covered Basket
7. Planter Box from a Thrift Store Throw-Away
4. Paint a table & Keep the Beautiful Wood too
5. Mason Jar Blue Headboard Bench
6. French-Inspired Coffee Table
7. Fabulous Bulletin Board from Thrift Store Parts
Here was my share from yesterday if you missed it:
XOXO,
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Maureen Provost Ryan says
Christy, I’m overwhelmed. What a beautiful job! Can’t wait to see the rest and your Mom’s reaction! What a talent you have! — Maureen
Christy K. James says
Thanks, Maureen! You are so kind. This was a piece of furniture that even surprised me, and that’s hard to do! XO
Gilly @ Colour Saturated Life says
I love the transformation of this, just looks beautiful now!
Christy K. James says
Thanks, Gilly! XO
Heather J says
This looks gorgeous, Christy! I absolutely LOVE those handles! What would the world be like without Hobby Lobby? Beautiful update! So happy for your parents…I just know they’ve gotta be so proud of their extremely talented daughter:)
Christy K. James says
Thanks, Heather! Hobby Lobby is the best place for hardware. We used to drive two hours to the nearest one to stock up, before we got one here 15 minutes away! Have a great day!
Sue Farmer says
Hey Christy!! Been on vacation and that is why I haven’t complemented your posts for a week!! Your mom had to have been soooo pleased with the new look . The dresser looks beautiful. What a change. You are a very good daughter and your mom is a lucky woman to have you.:)
Christy K. James says
Thank you, Sue! My Mom is always very appreciative of the things I do for her. And welcome back, I hope you had a great vacation!
Sue Farmer says
We did. Visited my cousin and her husband in Tampa. Weather was perfect and my cousin and I are like sisters and best friends!!
Christy K. James says
Glad you got to go somewhere warm! 🙂
Ed Temple says
love the dresser sis. now do something about those wires hanging down your wall…lol
Christy K. James says
Thanks big brother! This is Mom’s dresser. I had no control over the big TV and cords that were in the way of my photo shoot lol.
Becky says
Oh My Goodness, that is SO GORGEOUS!!! I LOVE it!
Christy K. James says
Yay! So glad you like it, Becky! XO
martina says
LOVE LOVE LOVE!! Awesome transformation…looks like a totally different piece!
Christy K. James says
Thanks, Martina! I agree…it does look like a totally different piece of furniture! XO
Marie@The Interior Frugalista says
Your parent’s must have been tickled pink when they saw their refreshed furniture! What a difference the legs make and the new hardware is perfect, especially adding the glass knobs to the original back plates. Beautiful! Thumbs up to restyling the top for them too – so much better now 😉
Christy K. James says
The funny thing is if my Mom would have offered this to me before, I probably would have turned it down. I was surprised how different it looked after!
Pattie @ Olla-Podrida says
Gorgeous! I have a dresser very similar to this one, handles and all. I love how it looks, and the feet are pure genius. I’m printing this post out and filing in it my “Thing To Do When I Build Up the Nerve” folder.
Christy K. James says
Thanks, Pattie! You can do this! Great weekend project! 🙂
Patty Jones says
Oh Christy, I love, love, love your amazing transformation of the dresser! Your work is truly inspiring!
Christy K. James says
Thanks so much, Patty! 🙂
Rose L. says
Very nice! I bet she loves it!
Christy K. James says
Thanks, Rose! 🙂
Andi says
Lovely! I’m sure your mom is thrilled!!! Can’t wait to see the rest. 😉
-andi
Christy K. James says
Thanks, Andi! I planned on sharing it all in one post, but there were too many pics lol. Can’t wait to share the rest. 🙂
Kathryn says
beautiful. I love a clean white finish on large furniture pieces. I noticed you didn’t paint the screws that hold the handles white. Was that on purpose? Can’t wait to see the rest!
Christy K. James says
Thanks, Kathryn! Two reasons for that, I was attaching them at 3:00 in the morning in an effort to finish the set before my parent’s returned home. And #2 is that their bed, which you can see in today’s post, is black wrought iron and so I thought they looked okay with that. I kind of like them that way too, but it would be easy to add a touch of paint to cover them. Great question. 🙂
Dee says
Great job! I couldn’t tell from the photos how much if any of the normal oak grain is still present. Can you discuss that a little? Did this version of chalk paint just cover the grain better? Did you wax it too?
Dee
Christy K. James says
Thanks, Dee! I was really expecting to see the wood grain through, but it is hardly noticeable as you can see in one of the clos-ups. I’m not sure why that is. Maybe the chalk paint filled it in better? I also sanded the surface smooth with 220 grit sand paper before waxing. I used Annie Sloan’s clear soft wax.
Dee says
Thanks! It seems the chalk paint hides the grain better which is big plus. Now I wish I had not given my old desk away…chalk paint would have saved it.
Christy K. James says
Sure! I think it does. 🙂
Elizabeth @ Rustic Maple says
The dresser looks great and such a good idea with the legs and painted hardware. I just finished a similar sized pine dresser in Lamp Black for our bedroom makeover in progress. Gotta love the power of paint.
Christy K. James says
Thanks, Elizabeth! Paint is magic in a can! XO
Paige says
You always inspire me when I visit your blog and today is no exception. I steer away from pieces with flat bottoms and no legs or feet. Now I know what to do with them! Thank you again.
Christy K. James says
Aww thanks so much, Paige! Honestly if my Mom had decided to buy a new set (before I painted this one), and she offered this to me, I probably would have said no thank you. This transformation really surprised me as well!
Krista @ the happy housie says
The feet add such a great touch! What a sweet daughter you are:) It turned out fabulous, Christy!
Robbie says
Has there been any of the oak’s grain showing through the white chalk paint? I have an oak dresser that I have been wanting to paint. Did you have to use a grain filler?
Christy K. James says
Hi Robbie! I did not use a grain filler. I went straight to painting, but honestly, you have to be right up on it to even notice any grain. I included a few very close-up photos in that post and you can barely see it. The difference with it painted as compared to the before is so profound that even if you could see the grain through it, it would still be 100X better than it was. Good luck!
Kristen says
Hi Kristy! I really love this update especially the feet. How did you do that? Thank you 🙂
Christy says
Thanks, Kristen! I added the feet using this hardware I purchased from The Home Depot: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Heavy-Duty-Top-Plate-2755/100390125;jsessionid=5E69664193A9391DD71576057CF1DCA3 This plate crews into each corner of the dresser and the feet screw into them.
Kristen says
Thank you!!!!
Christy says
Sure! 🙂