This dresser is a classic – you probably have one in your family  -  the classic  hand-me down that keeps getting handed-down one generation to the next.  It is not an antique, but so well made even after it takes a licking, it still functions perfectly.  Before it gets handed down once again to my daughter Mandy, I am going to tweak it to her specifications and transform it with paint to decorate her college dorm apartment.

Before

She is going to be a junior at the University of Vermont and is moving into a house with 4 of her friends.   She needs furniture + we had this + I can paint = DIY INEXPENSIVE TRANSFORMATION  TIME.   She was not into the brown and brass.  I can’t blame her, so I got to work.

This is how the brass drawer pulls looked after I cleaned them to prepare for spray painting.  You can see the one at the bottom has a bit of silver on it.  I tried using RubN’Buff on that one, but I could not get it into the detail of the pull so I opted to use spray paint.

Here is the desk that was currently in my daughters room at home.  She wanted it to match the dresser, so even though it looks pretty nice, I painted it.    I set up the two pieces in my garage, lightly sanded them and put two coats of Oil-Based Kilz on each piece.

Decorative brass pull on desk drawer.

Ready to unload  my daughters “stuff” into her house.  It has 5 bedrooms and she is in one that is tiny, tiny, tiny, but very bright and cheery.

If you have never been to Burlington Vermont it is definitely a destination to experience and explore.  It is right on Lake Champlain.  Gorgeous views everywhere.

Unique Shops

And plenty of delicious restaurants that have outside seating in the summer months along Church Street.  This is my favorite place to eat.

And a great place to study – The University of Vermont.

After

The color of the Valspar paint my daughter picked was  Seafarer.  You will find the process on how I paint furniture by clicking over to this post:  How to Paint over Stained or Polyurethane Finished Furniture

I used Rust-Oleum Specialty Metallic Spray Paint in Silver for the drawer pulls.  I applied 3 light coats, letting each coat dry thoroughly before spraying on the next coat.  They came out so much better than I expected.  I just love this brand of spray paint.

It is amazing how modern the pulls look now.

Her desk came out great as well.

Here  is the dresser in it’s new home.

The desk is across the room, which is only about 2 steps away.  I found a beach towel at WalMart  to cover her IKEA chair with.  If you decide to do this make sure you wash the towel first – or you will end up with a butt covered in lint. If you would like to see how I covered the chair you can find in my post: How I Transformed a Not So Pretty Desk Chair.

 I took these photos right before we left for the 7 hour drive home to Pennsylvania. 

She was having fun organizing and setting up all of her stuff.  I wished I could have stayed longer and helped her more, but I think she has my “decorating” gene and was figuring it out on her own.

I did fashion a sheer window scarf for her that I found at WalMart.  I didn’t use a rod.  There were two plant hooks on the ceiling that if we removed would have left huge holes.

I painted the hooks white and draped the scarf on them.  Then on each side I tied ribbons in all the colors used in the room around the scarf and hooked the ribbon on a nail on each side of the window trim.  I had to play with the folds to get each side even.  She was very happy with the results.  It is one very easy no-sew window treatment.

Tagged as: Decorating Dorm Rooms, DIY Before and After, Furniture Makeovers, Turquoise Painted Furniture