White and Wood Mid-Century Modern Dresser Makeover

A vintage Bassett dresser gets a two-tone makeover with white paint and black modern edge pulls.

A couple months ago, while scrolling Facebook Marketplace, I came across a nice walnut MCM Bassett dresser. I've refinished, altered, painted and repaired many different styles of furniture, but I'm definitely partial to mid-century modern dressers.

This particular vintage Bassett dresser was in great condition and checked off all my boxes of what I looked for when buying used furniture.

White and wood painted MCM Bassett dresser

It did have a few issues that needed to be taken care of, but it was perfect for a beautiful white and wood two-tone makeover.

- SUPPLIES NEEDED TO PAINT A DRESSER -

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- Zinsser Shellac Primer
- General Finishes Snow White Milk Paint
- 6" Foam Roller and Tray
- Dewalt Orbital Sander
- 120 Grit Sanding Pads
- 400 Grit Sandpaper
- Paintbrush
- Black Modern Pulls
- Black Modern Edge Pulls
- Minwax High-Performance Wood Filler
- Putty Knife
- Drill bit
- Drill
- Simple Green
- Paper Towels
- Old English for Dark Wood

-HOW TO UPDATE A DATED DRESSER-

Honestly, I wasn't planning on blogging about this MCM dresser makeover (hence the iPhone pictures). It wasn't until I decided to repair the hardware holes and add new black modern edge pulls that I realized it would be worth sharing.

I've always wanted to use top finger edge pulls and this walnut MCM dresser was the perfect candidate. The original hardware on the dresser was not my style and a backplate was missing, which made replacing it an easy decision.

Filling old hardware holes in MCM dresser

I used my favorite wood filler to fill all the original hardware holes then followed the steps in my Beginner's Guide to Painting Furniture to properly sand, clean, prime, paint and seal the dresser.

The dresser took two coats of primer, 4 coats of General Finishes Snow White and 2 coats of sealer, but was totally worth the extra work. The new black modern edge pulls made all the difference in transforming this classic MCM dresser.

White and wood milk painted MCM Bassett dresser

I would have loved to keep this beautiful two-tone MCM dresser, but it went to my vintage booth at Sweet Clover Barn where it quickly found a new home in a little boy's room.

If you're looking for more detailed directions on how to properly repair, prep and paint furniture, please check out my Beginner's Guide to Painting Furniture.