Serendipity Refined Blog: Dress(er) for Success

Earlier this summer, my youngest and I were on the way home from a trip to actually drop off a couple of boxes at Goodwill (I know...strange, isn't it?! The thought of actually donating instead of purchasing?!) I had just been lamenting the fact that I really needed more storage space in my studio when, on the way home, we passed a dresser. A long, low dresser, under a tree, near the street, leaning half way into the ditch beside the road. SCORE! Much to the chagrin of my 17 year old, we turned around and hoisted this beauty (yes, I realize that "beauty" is probably a stretch) into the back of the truck.

It got unloaded and shoved to the back wall of the garage. It was then piled high with bins of stuff that I needed to sort and integrate into the studio where it was promptly forgotten. Well, not exactly forgotten. More like ignored because I didn't want to have to deal with it. Until last week when I started the studio remodel. This is how he looked when I started. Darkly stained, having suffered the humiliation sitting at the road for what was probably at least a week (thank heavens we're having a drought so he didn't get rained on) and of having the birds in the tree use him for a bathroom. Yeah, I know, ICK!

The first thing that I did (after removing what were literally over a dozen bars of soap from the drawers) was to remove the hardware and sand the top and the drawer fronts down to the bare pine.

I repaired the drawers. REALLY, People?! Household staples holding on a drawer front!?!?

I painted the rest of the frame with Benjamin Moore Aura in HC-166 Kendall Charcoal so that they would match the other two cabinets that I "de-finished" last week. Finished the pine in the same manner as the other cabinets and installed Restoration Hardware Dakota knobs and pulls in the same finish after filling the holes with dowel rods.

Then, just a little distressing and a coat of clear wax to finish the look.

Grey painted pine dresser makeover with natural and white stained drawers from Serendipity Refined

As you can tell from these few photos, my studio has a cathedral ceiling and I was able to put one of the 7 foot tall shelves on top of the dresser! I put things that I don't need all the time on the upper shelves but don't worry, I also have a ladder behind the studio door!

I'm sure that by now, you're getting a sense of what the studio is going to look like when it's fully assembled. I have a few more projects to finish which you know that I'll share with you as I complete them but, I'm pleased with the results so far. What do you think?

xo,

Kimberly