Waterfall Dresser (Chest of Drawers)
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If you don’t like painted waterfall dresser furniture, you may want to look for another furniture makeover on my site.
This waterfall dresser (chest of drawers) was headed to the dumpster when I saved it. Not only was it headed FOR the dumpster, but the owner was about to beat it up and break it apart so it would take up less room in said dumpster.
You can see that it was really in rough shape. It had been stored in a damp shed building for years.
The first layer of veneer came right off very easily. The second later needed a little more elbow grease.
After removing the layers of veneer, I could see the damage done from years of storage.
I patched the cracked wood with spackling.
Because this was a quickie makeover, I didn’t attempt to patch this missing piece at the bottom.
Most of the drawers were rickety and not sturdy. I used my new Ryobi Airstrike Stapler to secure the sides of the drawers.
After a good cleaning, the chest of drawers heads to the paint booth for the HomeRight Max Pro Sprayer treatment. I used a light coat of flat white paint as a primer all over the piece, with the drawers in place.
After the light coat of primer, I used Behr Premium Plus Ultra paint all over.
Then I got busy mixing some paint to change the color. The gallon can of blue is Tiffany Blue, and the White is the Behr that I used for a basecoat. I mixed the paint in one of my Homeright cups to shake and store it.
Painting drawers is pretty straightforward, so I used a brush on them. This is after one coat. I decided the color was too light, so I added more Tiffany blue for the second coat.
This picture shows a better real-life color than the pictures below.
While the chest of drawers was drying, I got busy on the hardware. Some of the hardware was very rusty. I used a wire brush to remove some of the rust.
Then I washed them off with the hose.
I reached for my Krylon Rust Protector Spray Paint. Gotta love that it dries so quickly and has the EZ Touch 360° dial spray tip.
I was a little impatient and did a lot of coats—the hardware was a little tacky to the touch, so I laid it on a piece of scrap wood so it could dry better. It’s best to read the directions on the can, many brands vary on their dry times.
Then I reinstalled the pretty white hardware! Do you love the white handles against the pretty blue color?
This vintage waterfall chest of drawers is far from perfect. It’s been through a lot in it’s lifetime. Some may think I should have restored it. I wish I could have, but I didn’t have it in me to take on such a project. At least it can still live a nice, long, purposeful life instead of being chopped up and thrown into a dumpster.
Should I call it done? Or would you do a stencil or some distressing on it?
gail
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No stencil, I think maybe jut some nice white wax to bring out the groove detail.
Nicely done.
I think you did a great job!
It’s beautiful. You saved it which is a good thing. I’m not sure what it needs. It’s a little stark. Maybe something from the Graphic Fairy? Once again, it’s beautiful. Great job.
Tough call!! Looks beautiful now, but a stencil would add a little something special to it!
DONE!! It’s beautiful as is!
beautiful!
Sometimes all you can do is paint. Because rolled veneer is difficult to replace. Looks very nice.
Agreed, ombré drawers would be lovely. Thanks for saving this from the dumpster!
I love it! The contrasting white trim is perfect with the white handles.
It’s beautiful! I think a stencil would show up really nice on it.
I would say its been distressed enough. You rescued it so let it live out its days in this new refreshed condition.
It came out great! I’ve re-done several pieces that were less than perfect. The AFTER is far better than the trash so why not… a little elbow grease and you have an imperfect, perfect dresser now. 🙂 Great job Gail!
It’s beautiful, I love it just the way it is!