We are in the process of setting up a nursery for our first child! It has been so much fun to think of all the possibilities to decorate a room for a new little one and, of course, there is some specialized furniture we will be needing: namely a changing table.
We had an old dresser that had been given to us that we didn’t have an immediate need for so it had been living in the basement. It is shorter in height and longer in width, making it the perfect size for a changing table. There was just one problem—it looked a little dated. My husband does not, in any capacity, understand my desire to paint real wood furniture and I don’t understand his desire to stop me! If we don’t like it we can always use a stripper to remove the paint. It took me months to convince him that it really would be ok to paint the dresser and finally I was able to get busy!
We do not know what gender we are having so I wanted to paint it something that would work for either gender—that I could either make more boyish or dress up to be more girly. I decided on a deep teal/navy for the dresser. Either way, I wanted to jazz things up a bit. I wanted to paint the outside of the dresser the teal and then do a wallpaper on the drawer fronts. I got on Etsy and found some wallpaper that I fell absolutely in love with (it is floral so my mom thinks it’s a little girly if we have a boy but I don’t think the baby will know that florals are traditionally more feminine) and found some snazzy bee knobs to keep things from being too sweet. (And too girly!)
Below are the steps I followed to update the dresser as well as some links to the paints and wallpapers that I like. Check them out and let me know if you have projects that you are working on. Find me on Instagram @Essentiallyemmamarie.com.
Steps for redoing a dresser
A few notes before we get started:
Disclosure
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1. Select the paint and wallpaper you want.
2. Remove all the drawers and hardware.
3. Lightly sand the dresser first. You don’t necessarily need to sand the drawers but doing a quick sand will help the wallpaper stick better.
4. Using a damp rag, thoroughly wipe all the dust from the dresser. Let dry.
5. Wipe again with a clean, dry cloth. I like using a microfiber towel for this.
6. Some paints require that you sand your surface first. Others will only require that you wipe and dry the surface. For the paint I was using I needed to do a light sanding first. (In my experience the paint typically takes better with a light sanding regardless.) You just need to sand enough to rough up the appearance of the finish—you don’t have to aim to remove all the finish. You can do this by hand or with an electric sander. You want a fine enough grit sandpaper that it will rough up the finish but not so much that you will have scratch marks to fill. Aim for 320-400 grit. I used an electric sander to speed things up. Don’t forget to wear a mask and protective glasses if you are sanding.
7. Wipe with a slightly damp microfiber cloth.
8. Wait a few minutes and wipe with a clean, dry, microfiber cloth to get all the dust off.
9. Now for the paint! Apply two light coats. If you need a third coat you can but it is always better to apply more thinner coats rather than fewer thicker coats.
10. After the paint dries (the back of the paint can you are using will have directions for how long to wait in between coats and how long the paint takes to “set”), you can apply your sealer. I used a polyurethane sealer because I expect this dresser to take some hard wear and tear.
11. In the meantime you can apply your wallpaper to the front of the drawers. Wipe down the drawers and make sure they are clean and dry. Measure each drawer and mark your wallpaper (on the backside of the wallpaper) before cutting. If you are really nervous, you can unroll the wallpaper and set the drawer on the wallpaper to use as a pattern. Make sure to leave an extra half inch around all of the edges of the dresser.
12. It is easiest to do this step with someone: Set the drawer so it is standing upright with what will be the front of the dresser in the air. Have one person hold one end of the wallpaper as you peel away the backing from the other side. Lay the wallpaper on the drawer and smooth the wallpaper with your hand, or a straight edge, like a ruler, as you go to make sure there are no air bubbles.
13. Press the edges of the wallpaper around the drawer and square off the corners. You may need to apply decoupage or a type of glue to keep the edges in place depending upon the stickiness level of your wallpaper.
14. Taking a tool with a sharp point on it, such as an awl, small screwdriver, or long nail, puncture the wallpaper from the backside through the hole where the knobs were. Just make a small hole. Be careful!
15. From the front, insert your tool and wiggle it in a circular motion until the hole is big enough to fit your new knob through.
16. Insert your new knob and tighten with a pair of pliers.
17. You’re all done!
I hope this helps spark some ideas of ways you can redo and repurpose some items that you may already have around your home! If you do (or even if you don’t) I’d love to hear from you! Come connect with me over on Instagram! I can be found at @EssentiallyEmmaMarie.