Furniture Makeover: Snow White MCM Dresser

A dated and damaged mid-century modern dresser gets a fresh update with new paint and hardware! 

I haven't been blogging much, but I have been cranking out some furniture makeovers. 

Recently, I picked up a little three drawer mid-century modern dresser from one of my favorite used furniture sources, Facebook Marketplace.  

I loved the style and fluted drawer, but it definitely needed some work.  It was missing hardware, had some damage and a bit of loose and missing veneer.  It was nothing that couldn't be fixed though, so I headed out to pick up the dresser and got started working on it right away. 

- SUPPLIES NEEDED TO UPDATE A DATED DRESSER -

Affiliate links have been used 

- Dewalt Orbital Sander

- 80/120/320 Grit sandpaper

- Chisel 

- Hammer

- Screwdriver

- 6" foam roller and tray (for applying primer)

- Inexpensive paintbrush (chip, foam, etc.) (for applying primer)

- Purdy Paintbrush

- Qwikwood Epoxy Putty

- Bin Shellac Primer

- General Finishes Snow White Milk Paint

- Minwax Waterbased Matte Poly

- Hardware

- Drill and drill bits

- Tape measure 

- HOW TO UPDATE A DATED DRESSER - 

 

What do you think?  Would you have passed this little dresser up or do you see the potential like I did?

I knew I wanted to change the hardware placement, so I started by filling all the old hardware holes with my favorite wood epoxy.    I used the same epoxy to touch up some damage on the corners as well as fill in a few deeper knicks and gashes.

 

There was some loose and missing veneer on the sides of the dresser, which I was able to easily remove with a chisel and hammer.   For the few stubborn areas, I used my Dewalt Orbital Sander and 80grit sandpaper to sand off the thin strip of veneer.

Once the damaged veneer was removed and the wood putty was dry, I sanded the top of the dresser and the drawer fronts down to bare wood then gave the rest of the dresser a light sanding. 

I wanted to paint the dresser white, so I primed the dresser with two coats of BIN Shellac primer.   Priming before painting furniture white not only blocks wood tannins from bleeding through, but also gives a good base and limits how many coats of paint is needed to get full coverage. 

I prefer to use a 6-inch foam roller to apply primer then sand with 300 grit sandpaper before applying paint with a good quality brush.  For this dresser, I  added 3 coats of General Finishes Snow White then sealed the paint with Minwax water-based poly.  

You know I like black and white, so I finished off the dresser with flat black knobs and pulls from Home Depot.

The crisp white paint and new hardware placement completely changed the look of this once dated mid-century modern dresser.  What do you think?  

    

A Beginner's Guide to Prepping and Painting Furniture

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