Ugly Duckling Dresser Transformation


Happy Monday, Friends! Today I have a thrift store dresser transformation to share that puts me in mind of Hans Christian Andersen's story of the Ugly Duckling. It's always a pleasure to bring out the hidden "swan" in a cast-off piece of furniture...

vintage furniture makeover

Some of you may remember a previous dresser I upcycled only a few months after I started my blog. It turned out being a much bigger project than I anticipated, mainly due to unexpected repairs that needed to be made. In the long run, I was tickled with the results, and it has served me well. However, I use the drawers for storage and I had been on the lookout for something larger that I could use in the same place--along the dining room wall near my living room.

vintage furniture makeover

Labor Day weekend, I came across a 1965 Thomasville piece. The price was right, the drawers were sturdy, and...

painted vintage furniture

...it was super long! So long, in fact, that when Favorite Son brought it over after picking it up for me, I panicked a little--was it too long?! Now, maybe it doesn't seem so ugly to you--that was my friend, Carly's reaction after seeing only the photo. I should have snapped a few close-ups of the unnatural looking color of the stain, and I would have, had I realized my "before" picture would look better in the photographs than it did in person. Trust me--Dear Daughter-in-Law echoed my sentiments when she expressed in her lovely Spanish accent, "That color is really ugly!"

painted dresser makeover

Since I wasn't sure what time Favorite Son would be able to pick up my new find, I loaded up the dresser drawers in my car.

painted dresser makeover

The first thing I did was remove the gorgeous hardware.

how to upcycle a dresser

One of the reasons I use chalk paint so often is that it covers old yellowed finishes with very little prep. For this piece, I simply cleaned the surface. The insides of the drawers were surprisingly clean. By the time Favorite Son delivered the dresser, I had painted the drawers.You can see on the brush the aqua tint of the chalk paint I used. However, on the dresser, the color appears more gray. {You can find the exact paint shades plus the lovely drawer liner I used near the bottom of the post}

painted furniture makeover

I am not a neat painter, so the detailed contrast I wanted took me most of the long weekend to finish! 

painted furniture makeover

What do you think? Never underestimate the power of paint, right?!

Thrift store dresser upcycle

The same weekend, before finding the dresser, I picked up these pretty blush candles and the candlestick at Pier One--they were an additional 25% off the marked down clearance price. 

painted thrift store dresser
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Painted dresser makeover






My Thrift Store Addiction

painted furniture makeover

My Thrift Store Addiction



Would you like to comment?

  1. Beautiful, just beautiful! Enough room for lots of "decor" or a Thanksgiving's worth of serving dishes as a buffet. You will be styling!(As my mother aged, she cared less about pretty serving and she had a miniscule kitchen table. We called it "Lu's buffet"--we served ourselves out of the saucepans and pots on the stove!)

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  2. I love it! I inherited my great aunt's mahongany dining room set including her beautiful sideboard. even with her china cabinet, and another from her sister, I still seem to looking for storage space for linens. Yours looks like it can hold a lot of linens.

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  3. What a beauty. I would not have seen what you saw in it! You gave the old girl a wonderful new look on life.

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  4. Wow, that is big, but you did a lovely job! Like the color too! I guess the "ugly" color before pic was the gray & white. I didn't like that either, and I'm so glad that wasn't the way you painted it. I didn't know till I looked further.

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  5. Oh my gosh I would kill for this dresser! I've been wanting to get rid of my foyer piece as well as my two sideboards for ages and I picture using exactly that kind of painted dresser in their place! Now just have to convince the husband to sell it all off to make room. BTW I also have the Homegrown wooden box (from Big Lots I think) and I filled mine with cotton bolls -- love it! Great job! xo kathleen

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  6. What a beautiful piece you painted. I love how you painted the dresser and the details are stunning. Great Job Cecilia.

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