I bought this dresser off of Craig’s List a few months ago when I was having a run on empire dressers. I think I found 5-6 of them, all for under $100, within a few weeks. It was crazy.
This is one of the roughest dressers I’ve worked on, but it was the cheapest one of the bunch and I figured we could do something with it. It has a pretty wicked shimmy at the moment and the drawers are a little wonky, but I think Jeff will be able to fix it to at least make it functional.
It’s a chunky piece, but has a bowed top drawer and some turned details on the sides that add some femininity to it. I decided to paint it in Layla’s Mint, one of our new MMSMP European colors, to make it even more soft and feminine.
I did not add Bonding Agent to the paint for this one, but I did lightly sand to scuff up the finish to make the paint adhere. This was a piece I needed to push through and finish, because it looked really ugly after one coat. The reddish wood was showing through streaks of pale green and it wasn’t pretty in any way. It sat in the to-do pile for weeks until Kriste finally pulled it out last week and put two more coats of paint on it.
I was thinking about changing colors after the first coat, but I’m so glad we stuck with it. It looks beautiful in this color; like it was always meant to be…
The finish looked so pretty that we just left it alone. I didn’t distress it apply a finish on it. I’ve been really into unfinished milk paint, lately. It has this beautiful matte finish that looks very European…soft and aged.
I added some pretty green, navy and cream ceramic knobs from Hobby Lobby. I try to use the original hardware on these old pieces, but several of the wood knobs were broken and two were missing. These looked amazing with the paint color and the style and size complimented the piece.
AND, Kriste did the styling and the photo shoot as I was working on upholstery! I think she did a wonderful job. Everything used in this shoot will be for sale at the Lucketts Spring Market, May 15-17, 2015.
We had some footage of me working on this piece, so I put a little video together showing the process.
Hello and Happy Easter Marian…love the dresser! The color is awesome!
Really beautiful. Happy Easter!!!!!
This dresser looks like it was a great project to start your new color Lylas mint. It is a great soft color and a wonderful addition to your paint line. Happy Easter.
Hi Marian & Kriste, I love the way the dresser turned out. I’ve been wondering though, since you seem to be foregoing the sealing process on several of your pieces, how will the unsealed milk paint hold up to daily wear & tear? It just seems to me that the porous finished might get, well, dirty & gross from dust and handling over it.
I meant handling over time. (Stupid smart phone! I sometimes hate auto correct.)
We painted a hutch in the studio a few months ago and didn’t put a finish on it. We’re in and out of it all the time, since it holds all of our jars of milk paint. The limestone has hardened, so it’s actually worn well so far. I wouldn’t leave a tabletop unfinished, but a piece like a dresser would be fine. It would really depend on the pieces.
Thanks for getting back with this info Marian! You’ve inspired me to give this a try myself. Sometimes the milk paint is just the right color before the top coat goes on, so next time this happens I think I will just forgo one.
Super cute little video!
Well, if that video doesn’t pique the interest of new people, I don’t know what will! What a great transformation!
Love the styling, too – the dresser looks divine with that pretty toile chair. You rocked it, Kriste!
Hi Marian! I’m curious, do you have a feel for how the milk paint is going to wear over time without a top coat? I recently painted a dresser in Trophy, and I loved the color of the grey before the top coat. I debated leaving it, but since I was selling the piece, I wasn’t comfortable with not adding a top coat. I just wonder how something is going to look six months down the road if it hasn’t been given some sort of top coat. Have you had any experience with how the finish will handle normal wear and tear without some protection?
That is insane! I can not believe how incredibly different it is now that it is painted in Layla’s mint. What a soft pretty pretty color – Wow!
Cindy
Awesome makeover!
This dresser looks just perfect in Layla’s Mint! I love the knobs, too.
Super cute dresser. LOVE the color! Just bought your milk paint for the first time and am so excited to use it. Question…I always see people painting dressers and leaving the drawers closed while they paint, which is what you did in this video. What happens when you open the drawers when the piece is done? Doesn’t it leave an unfinished edge? Maybe someone else can answer this question as well. I have always wondered that. Whenever I paint I take the drawers out and paint them separately but am wondering if I’m wasting time doing that.
I leave the drawers in when there isn’t an overhang, just because it’s easier. I am careful when I’m painting where the drawer meets the body of the dresser, so the paint doesn’t make the drawer stick. I’ll use a screwdriver (or something stuck in the holes) to open the drawers to get the hardware on. Every once in a while, I’ll have to use a putty knife to break the seal if the paint happened to get in the crack.
Curious with the other gals about not finishing with a top coat of some kind. I love my pale grays and then the top coat darkens them up and I end up doing a white wash to achieve the soft gray again. It would be so much easier to just not coat it, but I weekly wipe the top of my furniture down and sometimes have to scrub stubborn marks.
I love the color. It softens the piece and brings out the the turned wood on it. I too, use Hobby Lobby for their choice in knobs. They have a great selection and more times than not their knobs are better than the originals on the piece. The people attending Luckett’s are going to have a great selection….
I think this may be my new favorite color and I’m not usually a “green” fan. Beautiful!
Hi Marion! I mixed up a batch of Layla’s mint and painted over a couple of coats of ironstone so that the ironstone would show thru when distressed. I made a 1/4 cup of paint and put two coats on. The color is more like a sage green than the lovely pale green of your dresser and most of the pics that I have seen. Could this be because the paint somehow settled in the bag?? It is pretty….yet not what I was hoping for. Any ideas? Thanks for your time.
Trina
There is variation between the batches of milk paint mixed and the surface you’re painting makes a big difference as well. This piece, since it’s unfinished, also looks paler than if it was finished. I hope that helps. If you think something was off with your color, send me a picture and we can make sure we get it right for you!
I am quite smitten with Layla’s Mint and can’t wait to be able to try it on something. I have to say I think this dresser is SO much more beautiful painted than it was before. It’s one piece even I wouldn’t have felt the least bit guilty about painting!
Hope your Easter was fun and by the way, are those REAL peonies in the photos of the dresser and chair? I know you are farther south than I am but I can’t believe you have them in bloom already.
Lastly, I want to join the others in complimenting Kriste on the styling. You’re a natural, girl!
So glad I ordered some Layla’s Mint to paint my dining room buffet and hutch. LOVE IT!!! This piece is so beautiful!
Simply stunning transformations.
Silly question, do you paint the interior of your dressers? Or just the outside and edges of the drawers?
No, I very rarely paint the interiors of the drawers. I usually clean them up and, if they are nasty, I’ll add some shelf liner.