Tricycle Highboy Dresser Makeover

by | May 6, 2014 | Before and Afters, Hand Painted Furniture, Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint | 21 comments

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I don’t think there is any doubt that I am a blue & white lover through and through.  That being said, I have a soft spot for red.  Red is such a bold color that it’s hard to not give it a little attention.  And, when there is a perfect red, like MMSMP Tricycle, how can I not use it?

This piece is a pretty ho-hum dresser.  Sure, it has a little turn to the leg, but otherwise it has straight and simple lines.  In order to make it stand out, I gave it a bold paint color.

I was also being practical.  This piece was stained in that dreaded red stain that bleeds through and causes furniture painters everywhere frustration.  So, knowing frustration was imminent if I tried to paint it a lighter color, I decided to work with it and paint it red.  It’s okay if red stain bleeds through red paint, right?

Cari cleaned, sanded, prepped and painted two coats of paint on the piece and then I did the distressing and finishing.  I just lightly hit the edges with a sanding sponge and finished it with two coats of Hemp Oil.

We left the paint a little shear, so you can barely see the grain of the wood, which looks really cool, and the finish is super smooth.

The knobs are from Hobby Lobby.

 

 

I upholstered two chairs yesterday and am going to take a break form that to do some painting.  My mom’s coming over tonight to help me as well.  We’re making the final push to Lucketts…

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    21 Comments

    1. Marsha Kern

      I love it!!!

    2. Rhonda

      I love that color red Marian! I just found a retailer near me that sells your milk paint, I can’t wait to try it!

    3. cristina

      Loooooove it!! I want it for my boys room!!! 🙂

    4. karen piehl

      you seem to know just the right color, as if you are the furniture whisperer!

    5. Cheryl

      Love it!!! Did you add bonding agent to the paint?

    6. Elaine Neidig

      Very nice! I’ll be at Lucketts and can’t wait to see everything. So excited!

    7. martina

      LOVE IT!!

    8. maria

      Wow! It went from plain and dowdy to a pop of pretty!! Great job!

    9. Kay

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      The dresser is very pretty–I like the red. It’s a faded color, but not in any way pink. Very nice.

    10. Tammy

      I’m so excited I’m going to the Lucketts Spring Markeg as well!!! First time!! Love the red:)

    11. breidag@breidawithab.com

      Hmmm…I’m just about to paint a piece that is so dark and SO reddish that I am considering using a “high hide” primer on it before I paint it with Milk Paint…. can’t quite make up my mind!
      It’s not quite the right piece for Tricycle….
      decisions, decisions….
      -b.

    12. Angie

      Pretty!
      I’ve been wondering…will there be someone selling your paint at Lucketts?

      • Miss Mustard Seed

        Yes, I know of two vendors who will have it.

    13. Fiona, Lilyfield Life

      MMS Tricycle is such a luscious colour Marian – such a great choice for your paints and perfect for over bleedthrough. I love this dresser and the shape of it.
      good luck for all your preparations
      Fiona x

    14. Jelena

      Yup! The color definitely gave that dresser a new life.
      Funny, I just painted legs on a little footstool I have in Tricycle. The grain sack upholstery has a red stripe on it, so I thought legs should match. 🙂

    15. Eileen

      I just can not get over the beautiful finish that hemp oil gave this piece. The pic with just the paint is nice, but when you added the oil…Shaazam!!

    16. Susan Sullivan

      the very first furniture makeover I did was a similar dresser with tricycle red – it was raw pine and it was so beautiful with black pulls and I used both wax and hemp oil – my daughter loves it!

    17. irishMimi

      I always love your blue & white posts. And I too love red w/ blue & white (especially when decorating for our patriotic holidays).
      However, in almost ANY scene, I love blue & white even more with GREEN!!!
      And it sure looks swell with yellow as well.
      I even think I like it with pink!
      Certainly seems if I love the hue, it WILL look great with white & blue!!

      keep your lovely posts coming

    18. Denise

      I love it! The red is so beautiful!! I am so inspired, my bedroom dressers would look great in this red..just what I was looking for!! You are so wonderfully talented – everything you touch turns to gold!

    19. Talitha

      Thought for a moment I was looking at an Ikea Hemnes dresser… except for the legs and the fantastic knobs, it looks exactly like it!

    20. Cassie Thompson

      I love the “red washed” look! Great way to punch up a simple piece.

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