dresser transformation

Ok folks, here it is - my dresser make over! I will try to keep the text minimal because well as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, and I took a lot of photos to document my steps.

So remember her? This is how the old girl looked when I decided she needed a little rejuvenation.

I had to decide if I wanted to use oil or latex paint. I decided to go with latex mainly because with the sudden onset of winter I had to do this project inside and oil paint is very smelly and very hard to clean up. I laid out a flat sheet to cover my carpet, put her on a piece of plywood and began to sand.

Initially I was going to take a belt sander to it all but Cynthia (my SIL and paint advisor) informed me I didn't need to do a major sand job but only needed to scuff up the surface to take the gloss off. It only took me about 20 minutes to sand the entire thing.

I wanted to keep the original key holes so I taped them off and then used an exacto knife to cut around them so that I could roll right over top without getting paint on them.

I washed the whole thing down well and then primed it all with my tinted primer. Once that was dry I was able to start painting the yellow - very exciting!

I said I wanted a mustard yellow but didn't realize how close "Serengeti Song" actually was to well... mustard! I'm SUPER pleased with this color.

I did 2 coats and then let it sit for an entire day. It needed more but I wanted it to be good and dry before I painted again as I didn't want it to get gummy.

I was a little worried about how well this medallion would paint but I rolled right over it and it covered really well. I think having a great primer really helped.

I finally did another 2 more coats and let that dry for another day. When it wasn't tacky any more I put the drawers back in (don't worry I don't have them closed all the way), put the hardware back on and moved it back into place.

I am *THRILLED* with how it turned out. It is better than I had envisioned it. The color is perfect and it's exactly what I wanted.

I am so happy with it! It looks so much more modern, so much more "me," and really brightens up the room.

And for all you BEFORE and AFTER junkies, here you go!

BEFORE

AFTER

Come back tomorrow and I'll show you the rest of the room and how her new look is fitting in nicely.