A Refinished Dresser For The Guest Room

At the beginning of the year, our guest room was nothing more than a plain storage closet with an air mattress. It was a room that was bland and lacking in character, charm, and coziness. And quite honestly, we were tired of housing guests in a sterile box. Earlier this year, we decided to do a quick, inexpensive refreshing of this room (You can read more about that here). We’ve become quite happy with this room since we started our mini “reno” in here. But, one thing was lacking. We needed a dresser. Or something to help “finish” the space while we patiently await flooring changes, windows, and lighting, etc… (all next phase renovation). Little did I guess it would come in the form of an unexpected blessing.

The perfect piece for this space came as such a surprise for us. Someone privately asked me if I would be interested in purchasing an older dresser from her as a new project piece. I knew the piece’s potential, I talked it over with Ryan, and we agreed it would make a great piece for our guest room. Well, this person was not only kind enough to offer the piece to me in the first place, but she then decided that she would like to gift it to me instead. To the person who did that for me, I can’t say thank you enough. I hope I have done well with your gift to me.

Here is what the dresser looked like before I started the refinishing:

As you can see, this dresser had great bones. The details on the piece are classic, beautiful, and filled with charm. I knew immediately the color I wanted this to be, but what to do with the top left me somewhat puzzled. I liked the color, but there were a few deep scratches in the stain where I just didn’t feel right about leaving it in the condition it was. I figured I would just sand it down to create a more even surface to paint, but once I started, I really liked the look of the rough, raw wood. I also liked the remnants of the stain that were still in the nooks and crevices. I decided to just leave it as it was and put a clear coat on it to bring out more of the beautiful wood tone. Seeing it now with the black paint, it was definitely the right call.

To paint it, I used Dixie Belle chalk paint in the color Caviar. I’ve used this many times before, and it is one of my favorite muted black paints. As for the knobs, I debated getting new ones, but it only made sense to try a spray paint on them first before making that decision. I used a gold, metallic spray paint from Krylon that I have used numerous times before, and it drastically changed the look of them. I decided to keep them, and am quite pleased with the classic look they provide to the piece. The contrasting styles of the black and brass with the scratched and natural look of the wood worked rather well, and we love how much it added to this room.

This generous gift has become such a staple piece in our home. It provided the perfect amount of character and class that this cozy room needed. I always love to combine those two elements to create spaces that I truly love. I am grateful that this dresser has found a new home here with us and am even more grateful for the sweetness and generosity of its giver. I hope you have enjoyed this dresser refinishing and hope it can leave you feeling inspired in your own home today. Thank you, as always, for stopping by today and being my support. It means more than you will ever know.