Reese's Nursery- the Dresser

So this dresser is probably my favorite part of the nursery.  Quite possibly because it took so long and was such a labor of love.

I started off with this wood dresser I got for $50 off craigslist.

Pretty ugly, I know!  But I saw the potential.  So we... {Well, first I have to say- Josh was just thrilled to help, let me tell you.  I practically had to drag his whiny bum every night we worked on this. He does not get the joy out of DIYing like I do. *sigh*}  Anyways, so we got to work.

I started this back in August and began by getting the room ready to paint in.  We rent a townhouse and have no backyard, so I have to paint big things like this inside.  Don't I have such a cute helper?!

Then we took out all the drawers, removed the hardware, and then lightly sanded down the whole thing. Next, we painted the drawers.  The little papers in the drawers are post-it notes where I wrote down which spot that drawer went in.  The paint is Valspar Ultra paint + primer, low odor, zero voc (since we were painting inside). The color is called Coral Reef.  {I don't know if I've mentioned it on here, but the colors of Reese's nursery are coral, aqua, and gray}

Then we painted the inside of the drawers with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (ASCP)- Old White. I just love ASCP.  No priming, quick drying, and 2 coats are usually sufficient.  Now, painting the insides was an extra, not really necessary step, but I really wanted to take the extra time and try it out.  I had seen it done a few times by others and really loved the way it looked.  Josh really complained about this extra step, but I'm SO GLAD I forced him we did it.  I think it looks SO much better.  It's lighter and brighter and goes well in this girly room. :)

Next up, painting the main dresser!  I can't remember exactly now, but we did 3 or 4 coats on it, and the drawers as well.  All the white stuff on top is wood filler (paintable and sandable- the best kind to get!) to help even out dents and scratches.  I'd normally do this before painting, but after the first coat they became more obvious and I hadn't noticed them before in the dark wood.  It was fine though and the next coat of paint covered it well.

After painting and then letting the paint cure a couple days I added a couple coats of wax on the top to protect it.  I put new hardware on, stuck the drawers back in, and then she was done. Yay!!!

Here is the finished result.

I'm so happy with it!  Here's a peek with the drawers open so you can see how great the white insides look.

Oh, and I forgot to mention, I also lined the bottom of each drawer with some cute wrapping paper cut to size. I'd seen it done here (and the painting of the drawer insides) and loved it, so I copied. :)

And some more shots of the finished product. :)

 BTW, we finished this back in October, so 2 months from start to finish, BUT we were out of town for most of September, so in reality this took about a month at our pace.  Which was working slowly (not everyday) at night time after Gray went to bed.

And how she looks today, in the fully completed nursery!  *Sneak Peek* Of which, I hope to post about really soon.  I just took a million pictures of it today for you. :)

So, whaddaya think? Are you loving it as much me? Josh is thrilled, because we're done. :)





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