Refabulous

I love making things my own. Whether it's affixing a sweet little brooch to a simple headband or mixing nail polish to create the perfect color, I rarely leave things as I bought them. Lately I've been into some refinishing projects, the first of which involved an old, thrifted dresser I bought for around $25. I searched for months for a dresser large enough for my needs, and while this was the perfect size, it was little more than plain old boring. With a little help from my sister and a long weekend, we flipped this dresser from drab to fab.

{krista, sanding}

Start by roughing up the finish a bit with some very fine sandpaper. You don't want to use rough or really grainy sandpaper because it will scratch into the wood and leave the surface uneven. If you're lucky like me and have a brother-in-law or someone who owns a power sander, this part is a breeze. If not, it's ok, just hunker down and get sanding!

{drawers, sanded and wiped clean}

Using a slightly damp rag or old towel, wipe down the inside and outside of all the drawers, making sure to get all the wood dust wiped away.

Next....paint!! I wanted to absolutely love everything about this dresser, so I used two contrasting paints to make it exciting; one for the outside, and one for the inside. I went with lilac and eggplant because who doesn't want a purple dresser?

{dresser, first coat}

Picking the gloss level on paint can be little tricky. I didn't want the lilac to have any sheen to it as I thought that would make it look too commercial. So I went with flat which has absolutely no gloss at all. For the inside of the drawers I chose a very light gloss so it would really highlight the contrast between the two paints.

Next up, KNOBS! Picking knobs is really fun and there are a lot of little beauties out there...making it difficult for people like me to actually make a choice.

{knobs, Anthropologie}

I finally chose crystal knobs with gold bases. The gold base of the knob reflects through the crystal and makes the knobs appear yellow from some angles (have I mentioned yet that I LOVE this dresser?!).

{dresser, crystal knobs}

{finished fabulousness}

And there you have it! Easy peasy refinishing and personalizing you can do yourself. I love this dresser, and because Jeff loves me he lets me keep it our bedroom where it's lovely princess-ness (as he calls it) and fabulous chic-ness (as I call it) can greet the both of us daily.