Crafternoon Delight: Just Like New

Well the first week of my new ambition (one craft project a week) is coming to a close and I actually accomplished several things this week. For the purposes of this blog and my craft project goal I am going to use a Monday - Sunday week...that way I can utilize the full weekend to complete my project.

I had intended to start small - completing a small project bag that I could carry my knitting in - but this weekend was one of the first really nice weekends here in Western Washington so I decided I should take advantage of the beautiful weather and complete a project that has been on my list for some time.

I have this little dresser that has been in my room since I was in highschool and I have painted it several times to match my room as it has changed. I have not however ever changed out the ugly brass handles. The last time I painted it, I painted it matte black. I would not recommend ever painting furniture in a matte finish...it just doesn't wear well or look that nice.

It had been about 12 years since I painted it last and I now wanted to use it in my front entryway, but it was really beat up as you can see.

My house and furnishings are mostly earthtones so even if it was in better condition, black would have looked really out of place in my house. I had picked up the spraypaint I wanted to use a few weeks ago - I find that spray paint can give you really even and smooth coverage once you get the hang of it. The trick I have found is short, fast sweeps will give you the best most even coverage.

You could use regular paint and a small foam roller too if that is more convenient or less intimidating. The big thing to remember is to watch out for drips if you use spray paint. You can wipe them off quickly with a wet rag and respray once it has dried.

So I drug the dresser out into my yard and laid down a plastic painting tarp so I didn't spraypaint the grass as well. It's important to wipe down whatever you are painting to get any oils or dirt off the surface so you don't just paint over the dirt. If I was being super thorough, I would have sanded down the previous paint job, but for this particular piece I didn't feel that it was entirely necessary for this project.

I did a good solid coat of paint and then waited about 20-30 minutes before going back out to give it another good coat. I then let it dry for a couple of hours before bringing it inside and then let it sit for 24 hours before replacing the hardware with new drawer pulls.

It is painted a nice espresso brown in a satin finish with brushed nickel drawer pulls and I think it looks quite nice now. I am very happy with the results and when I had it all put together, my husband declared "It looks just like new!"