MID-CENTURY MODERN DRESSER MAKEOVER
Happy 1st of July!
I have been waiting to share this piece of furniture forever. I put my hands on a gorgeous Bassett dresser back in November  { shared it on Insta HERE }on a local antique auction. I typically don’t do auctions but I wanted a mid-century dresser for our new bedroom so badly, that I had to go that route to find what I wanted.
I was drooling over some West Elm dresser online, they are so very pretty – but I wasn’t too happy about ther price tag ( $999.00).!
I looked on Craigslist every day for months, but I could not find anything that really caught my eye or if there was something I liked, it was way overpriced. You know that mid-century modern furniture can be pricey. Sometimes very pricey.
So anyway, I got this gorgeous piece ( you may not thin it is gorgeous if you look at the pic below)for $75 dollars. YAY! I knew that was a good price for it and I knew that this is definitely a piece that I can turn into something pretty.
It had minor scratches on the front, some broken pieces on the bottom and a couple of destroyed wood trims.
It took a few months of waiting to be able to start working on our project due to the cold winter months. Â “She” was sitting in our garage. After a few weeks, I almost put this dresser on the market because it smelled horrible. You know that OLD smell. I just could not stand it and I could not imagine this piece in my bedroom with this strong smell. I contacted Sarah (from Sarah M, Dorsey Designs ) as I knew she had multiple dresser makeovers on her list, to see if she could advice me some sort of solution for the smell killing. She sent me this link (from Young House Love ) where they advice to use vinegar to get rid of the smell. Â On the first sunny day I took all the drawers out and wiped them as well as the body inside with vinegar. I let them completely dry then I repeated it 2-3 more times. Indeed, the smell was gone.
The destroyed trim needed to go, as it wasn’t fixable. The trim was secured with small nails to the drawers so they were removed.
Then we filled the small wholes with wood filler.
 After the wood filler was dry, came labor. Labor of love my friends. Sanding this piece took hours…yep! Hours! This guy below was a huge help!!
YAY!Sanded all the way!
My hubby is an expert of spray painting, so he sprayed the sides and the top of the dresser with white flat paint /primer. Covered really well.
While he was painting, I put a coat of wood stain on the drawers. I chose dark walnut…so pretty!
And finally, I got some nice adhesive paper at Target to make the inside of the drawers look nice and clean.
It was all worth the waiting, the sanding, the painting because our dresser turned out gorgeous. I am totally in love with this dresser. Makes me happy to look at it every morning when I open my eyes.
So what do you think? Yay or nay?
Our bedroom is slowly but nicely coming together and I will be sharing some more tutorials and the total makeover soon!
Check out my painted IKEA vases, part of our bedroom as well
or the IKEA MALM Headboard MakeoverÂ
Thanks for stopping by today!
Xoxo
That’s amazing. You really did a great job. The color combination is so nice. Thanks for sharing such a great post.
I just bought the SAME EXACT DRESSER at a garage sale for $25 and I’m in the middle of redoing it. My wooden drawer trim was unsalvageable, so I pulled all of it off, but I’m having trouble pulling the nails out. Did you just use pliers? Any tips?
Your piece looks amazing. Well done.
Ugh! I can’t really remember what I used, I am sorry. All I know that I needed my hub’s strong hand as it was SOOO hard to pull the nails out! So get your hub (or friend) into biz:-)You made an awesome deal for $25!! Wowza! Send me an image or tag me in social of your beauty once it’s done!! Good luck!
Hi, Did you sand the base of the dresser as well before spray painting? I see that you sanded the doors, but I’m curious about the rest of the dresser.
I sanded the entire thing before I painted. When you sand the surface before your paint, the paint will better stick to your surface. Hope this helps:-)
Great piece of furniture!I love pieces with character, that aren’t cookie- cutter!Can you tell us how you made or where you bought the large wall art over the dresser?
You did such a beautiful job on this dresser!!!
Was it stained wood or laminate? Because I have a laminate dresser in my basement I’d like to spray paint:)
Katy, Thank you, I love how it turned out. It was wood, not laminate. I am sure you can spray paint your laminate dresser too but be sure to sand it before painting. Take care!
Did you strip any of the finish off before staining it? I assume you didn’t because I don’t see that step, but thought I’d ask anyway. I looks so good!
I’m getting ready to redo a similar piece. Can you tell me the brand and type of white spray paint you used?
Thanks!
Leah, Thanks for hopping over! I used Rust-oleum, white flat paint w/primer.It covered it really well!Hope you are having a great weekend!
Oh wow, so beautiful! I can see you put a lot of sweat and Love and hard work in it ! You done an amazing job !
Xo
Yasmina
This turned out fantastic Aniko! Love the two tone, it’s even better than the West Elm piece!
Your makeover is amazing! Mid century modern furniture is so timeless and looks so great – you’ve done an incredible job!
Alisha, Thank you for stopping by. Happy to read your kind words!I truly love the outcome:-)Have a wonderful day!
Your dresser is gorgeous! I like it better than the new one. Great makeover.
Thank you Virginia! Have a wonderful day!
Wow Aniko! I love how this came out. I too wanted a mid century piece for so long. Finally found one, but didn’t think of going to an auction. I’ll have to try one of those next time. The two tone is just perfection! Thanks for sharing at The Makers!
Thank you, Corey! I too think the two tone turned out just perfect!:-) Have a lovely week!
WOW, this piece is gorgeous and I can’t wait to see more of your bedroom, it looks like such a beautiful space! Thanks for sharing this over at The Makers 🙂
Thanks for hopping over to check out my new “LOVE”:-)Have a wonderful week, Katie!
I love this piece Aniko! Great job!
Glad you like it, Summer:-) Hugs!
Oh this is so, so, so gorgeous. LOVE it!
Thank you sweet Alexis!!
that is a great looking dresser, super interesting front. redoing a piece like this has been on my list for ages. i’ve actually had the piece, but never did anything with it. now it’s almost done, and i’m super excited to use it as a tv stand. this is some great eye candy!
have a good one,
b
Thank you for stopping by! Finding a good piece like this isn’t easy. I loved the simple lines on this dresser and I envisioned it with the two tone that came out nicely. Have a fantastic week!
Just love how this dresser turned out! I adore the white and walnut mix, too. Pinning.
Thank you, Amy!Hugs!
Looks amazing! All your waiting and hard work paid off. What a fabulous piece of furniture?!
I love it too, Katie! Happy Dance:-) Have a lovely day!
Wow, that dresser is gorgeous! I like it a lot better than the West Elm version, you did a fabulous job!!
Thank you so much, Kimm!I love it better than the West Elm piece too:-) Have a great day!