Subtitle: How I painted my faux bamboo dresser
Something big has happened at our house. (Hint: see subtitle) It might not be significant in other homes, particularly those that house people with follow-through to match their grand ideas. But here, in the home of this chronic 90 percenter? Of this easily distracted DIYer? Around here, it feels like a fairly big deal that I managed to turn this…
…into this:
Earth shattering? No. I mean, how many gazillion dresser makeovers have you seen? Oh, you say you’ve already seen a hundred today. I’m not surprised. But you know what separates all those dressers from this one? Me. Which means this dresser had little to no chance of pulling through. But here we are, just four short months later. (Seriously, I’m pretty proud of that turn around time.)
I feel like I should tell you about the process, but the blogosphere needs another furniture painting tutorial about as much as I need to spend the rest of the day on Pinterest finding rice crispy treat recipes (read: not at all…especially since I did that yesterday). Besides, I have no business advising on this topic. You should consult much more skilled and experienced furniture refinishers like Kate. I don’t recall her tips for a professional paint job including baby wipes, which feature somewhat prominently in my story. That should tell you that I didn’t really follow a tutorial exactly.
Oh, but let’s pretend I DID follow a tutorial EXACTLY. Here’s what that tutorial would have said (including when to panic)…
(1) PLAN
* Search for dresser for a year, then rush to buy it the day before going town. (Details here.)
* Shove dresser in living room, displacing other furniture and crowding an already small space.
* Live with that cramped set up for a month or so before moving dresser onto the front porch.
* Protect dresser by wrapping it in a big blue tarp, then stand back to admire what this does for your curb appeal.
* Agonize over dark blue paint chips before ultimately selecting Behr’s Nocturnal Sea, mostly so you can stop all the agonizing.
(2) PRE-PREP (that’s a thing, right?)
* Have a pep talk with yourself about how you know you can do this even though you’re pretty sure you’re in over your head but you can’t back out now because you made your husband haul this dresser home and shove it in the living room.
* Panic attack: Realize after reading furniture painting info online that you do not have the requisite skills (mostly patience) to do this job well. Repeat pep talk.
* Take a deep breath. Gather supplies: sanding blocks, one quart blue paint, one can gold spray paint, one can spray polycrylic in satin finish, one small can of brush-on polycrylic in satin finish, a good angled brush, dense foam mini rollers, and a few other things.
(3) PREP
* Give the whole dresser a good wipe down with baby wipes.
* Pull out drawers and remove hardware.
* Lightly sand the flat parts of the dresser to scuff it up some and smooth out imperfections. Pay special attention to the top of the dresser which is laminate. Um, yes, laminate.
* Go over the whole dresser again with baby wipes to remove the sanding dust.
(4) PRIME
* Break open the Zinsser water-based bonding primer.
* Panic attack: Realize you should have gone with spray primer for all the faux bamboo detail because there is little to no chance of avoiding drips in all those curved ridges.
* Brush primer onto faux bamboo details, reminding self to keep the coat thin. Thin, thin, thin.
* Fail to keep coat thin. Curse self, but carry on when no drips are immediately apparent.
* Consider breaking out mini roller to prime top and sides of dresser, but decide against it since the brush is already in your hand and since rumor has it that brushing will deliver the thicker coverage that is desirable for a heavy use surface such as this. (Do it more for the latter reason and less for the lazy.)
* Brush primer on top and sides of dresser.
* Panic attack: Immediately regret not rolling the top in light of the extreme brush strokes left in the primer.
* Let primer dry overnight. Sand top to remove reduce brush marks.
* Massage sore sanding arm.
* Clean surface with baby wipes.
* Put on your genius cap and use same brush to add another coat of primer right on top of the surface you just painstakingly sanded to reduce brush strokes.
* Panic attack: [repeat previous] Immediately regret not rolling the top in light of the extreme brush strokes left in the primer.
* Allow primer to cure for a full week while you wait for the next child-free opportunity to work on this project.
* In the meantime, consider just sticking with primer since the white is already so much nicer than the “before.”
(5) PAINT
* Give hardware several coats of gold spraypaint.
* On the dresser, repeat the tedious sanding and wiping steps done between coats of primer.
* Add Floetrol paint conditioner to your latex paint in hopes of reducing brush marks in the final finish.
* Use a new paintbrush in hopes of reducing brush marks (and since bits of primer dried in the other brush).
* Carefully brush blue paint onto all but the top and sides of the dresser. Finally break out a foam mini roller for top and sides.
* Panic attack: Experience serious doubts about color choice after first thin coat, especially when your mother says, “oh, it’s bright” in her best supportive voice that almost masks her doubts about the direction of this project.
* Go back to brushing for the next three coats. Do lots of sanding and baby wiping between coats.
* Panic attack: After allowing a coat of paint to cure for a full week, give it a quick baby wipe and notice that the wipe in your hand is completely blue. Remain puzzled about why you’re able to apparently wipe paint off quite easily (but develop a theory that floetrol may be involved). Decide it’s time to seal this sucker.
(6) SEAL
* Break out the polycrylic. Spray all but the top of the dresser.
* Apply brush-on polycrylic to the top.
* Panic attack: Realize brush-on polycrylic on such a large surface is way out of your league. Once again, leave extreme brush marks in the surface.
[Psst, yes that brick in the background did turn gray. More on that here. It involved another round of dragging the dresser inside then outside.]
* Per instruction on polycrylic can, lightly sand surface before second coat of sealer. (But first make a special trip to the hardware store just to buy 220 grit sandpaper.)
* Panic attack: Try not to pass out with panic when you see the sandpaper scratching the heck out of your dresser.
* Breath sigh of relief when the scratch marks disappear after one coat of spray polycrylic. Spray on five more coats.
* Eventually tire of sealing the dresser and put hardware back on.
* Call this turkey done. Celebrate. Drag it back into the living room.
(Sorry about the crazy color difference between the pictures above and below. In real life, it’s somewhere in between.)
Now you may be saying to yourself: “That dresser looks great! What’s with the partial triumph?” First of all, thank you, I am pretty pleased overall. And my photography skills aren’t good enough to capture the imperfections for you, so we’ll just pretend they aren’t there.
As for partial triumph, well, the dresser is still in our living room. When it makes it to the master bedroom, this triumph will be complete. “Ok, why don’t you just put the dresser in the bedroom?” Fair question. The staircase is a little too tight to carry it up easily, so we’re planning to hoist it in through our bedroom window. Gulp. I’ll save that story for another day. Like maybe the day we actually do it. I’m still unsure about the whole thing, but Hubby has plans and says I should trust him. I do. Mostly.
So that’s how I painted my dresser….but not necessarily how you should paint yours.
+++++++++++
Linking up with Miss Mustard Seed, The Shabby Nest, Addicted 2 Decorating, Tatertots & Jello, Primitive & Proper, and here:
hahaha it sounds about like my first furniture painting experience. Seriously, I don’t know how people paint like 4 things a day and still have time for the rest of life. It is a LONG process. Anyway, I used wipe-on polycrylic last night for the first time and told my husband I was in love with it. It was SO easy, SO fast, and didn’t leave behind pesky brush strokes. (I find regular poly tedious and annoying.) Definitely look into it should you decide that you want another self-induced panic attack or 12.
The blue with the gold looks awesome!
WIPE on poly?! That sounds promising. Thanks for the tip. I’m not sure I’ll be taking on any new furniture projects soon, but I do have an old project gone wrong to fix. We learned the “no polyeurathane over white paint” rule the hard way. Hello, yellow streaky disaster! Maybe wipe on polycrylic is the answer. After a good sanding of course. Joy.
Lol! Oh my gosh — you are so funny. I am dying of laughter right now. I have so many things in my home that are “waiting” for their paint day — I like to plan this out, but I am so scared to actually tackle one of these projects. Thanks for the humor — the dresser looks beautiful!
Thanks so much, Maria! Oh boy could I get myself in trouble if I had any space for furniture projects-to-be. The forced discipline of a small house saves me from myself
I think many a DIY project go like this. I know I’ve had a lot of f-bomb moments, too. But yours is hilarious. Especially your refusal to get a roller – you totally cracked me up!
But it was worth it! The dress looks phenomenal and I love the colour you chose.
Thanks, Tanya! I don’t know why I was so anti roller. Ha ha. Not sure my stubbornness (or laziness) served me so well here, but it turned out OK in the end.
you are sooooo engaging and amusing, and the only part of the tutorial that would have varied for me is A XANAX AND A FULL GLASS OF WATER. the dresser looks fabulous.
thank you for such lovely inspiration! found you at MMS’s link party, always a favorite!
hope you can swing by:
http://hellolovelyinc.blogspot.com/2012/07/summer-sale-giveaway.html
smiles to you.
michele
Xanax — ha ha! Thanks so much, Michele. Glad you stopped by.
Erin,
Scrolling through the party at Miss Mustard Seed I could not, not come see this makeover because it looks identical to what I’m currently working on. Really. So I’ll start by saying I had just looked at mine with paint coat #2 on it and I wasn’t really sure I was in LUV with it. I was even wondering about changing the color {sigh}. But yours looks great, so onward I will go, when the temps / humidity drops and I can get back out in my garage. I can’t believe how we even choose virtually the same color … mine is Royal Blue by Rustoleum, oil-based paint. And my dresser is smaller, the 6 drawer version of Bali Hai; it was my furniture since childhood. Last fall I painted the bachelor’s chest the same color; it is in my dining room and the dresser will join it, eventually. If your curious how yours could work in a dining room in the future you might want to check in on mine. Really, yours looks great and I enjoyed your lighthearted humorous take on a tedious project. This is so coincidental. Oh, and I’m following now cause I have to see what you do next, it would be too funny if I was too.
Robin
happilyhomeafter.blogspot.com
Oh my goodness, Robin. SO glad you stopped by. Two funny things: (1) I totally remember seeing your bachelor’s chest back in my googling “blue bali hai” days. Love it! (2) I just got distracted online browsing projects linked to Primitive & Proper. I clicked through to see more of a gorgeous green and blue credenza…and found you again!
Love that credenza! Thanks so much for stopping over. Can’t wait to see how your 6 drawer dresser turns out! (Keep going – you’re two coats in — there can’t be that many to go, right?)
WOW! i absolutely LOVE it! the color is so perfect for that style. i saw this over at tt&j and had to come tell you how much i love it.
Thanks so much, Cassie! I had this one in my mind’s eye for a long time, and I’m pleased to find that I like just as much as I thought I would (since that is NOT always true for me). Thanks for stopping over.
Glad that you overcame the inertia we all experience. OK, maybe not all of us, but MOST of us that aren’t doing this for a living. I LOVED your self-deprecating sense of humor and the dresser looks great too!
Thanks, Mary Ellen. I’m pretty sure I won’t be painting furniture for a living any time soon
Gorgeous dresser, the color is beautiful. I just found your blog through A2D and love it. I have twins also along with a younger singleton. My guys are off to college (all three, eesh!).
I’ve started using Annie Sloan chalk paint and find it really does cut out a few steps for me and saves lots of time.
I also really like how the exterior of your town house came out, I love painted brick and the combination of the gray with the yellow front door is delightful!
Oh my goodness, off to college – you made it!
It’s so hard for me even to imagine kindergarten. It’s frankly still hard to imagine — or remember– sleeping through the night. (Um, yes, our girls are two.) I do keep hearing good things about chalk paint. Maybe next time I get up the nerve to paint furniture…which might be a while…
It looks great, but what really won me over was that I am actually laughing out loud. I only have patience for spray painting, not even sanding anything, so I’m easy to impress on the painting front. And who knew baby wipes were so important? So happy I follow you and can read your blog on days like today when it’s all cold and foggy and the baby is napping, and the big kids and husband are gone, so instead of cleaning or taking toys off the couch I can just hang out with Google Reader!
Thanks, Jessica. Yes, google reader is such a good friend
I LOVE IT!!!!! I’d paint everything in that color if I could! This is my first visit here and you’re so cute in your blog I think I’ll come back!
Thanks so much, Christine. I know, I just can’t get enough of navy blue lately!
the dresser and the hardware turned out so pretty! thanks for giving hope to all of us 75%ers.
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Wow, it looks great. What a beautiful dresser. I have a similar one but haven’t repainted it yet.
Thanks, Allison! Are you planning to paint your dresser? If so, what color(s) will you go for?
I am dying for a piece of faux bamboo furniture. This looks amazing and I think you are selling yourself short on your furniture painting skillz. The color and the gold hardware are perfect.
Thanks, Suzy. Are you actively in the hunt for faux bamboo? It took me forever to finally get my hands on this, and my first choice was actually a six drawer dresser. What shape are you hoping for?
I really like the dark blue color. Very good job
The dresser is amazing!
Seriously LOL. “Experience serious doubts about color choice after first thin coat, especially when your mother says, “oh, it’s bright” in her best supportive voice that almost masks her doubts about the direction of this project.” I die.
Now I feel the pressure to conquer the matching nightstand!
Spray paint, Caitlin. Definitely spray paint. And thanks.
Also, It really was bright and her doubts were justified.
I just found you.. .can’t remember where since I’m just beside myself. Your story is the best I’ve read in a while. All of our doubts and anxiety over our projects oozed through your experience. Thanks for the good laugh. You’re a riot. By the way, I saw that your first commenter mentions wipe-on poly. I just used it for my kitchen table… a great product. I’m your newest follower.
Thanks so much for the kind words, Martha, and for the wipe on poly tip. I’ll definitely try that before I brush poly on anything again. (I kind of hope I never do that again anyway.) So glad to have you following along
Reading this post is exactly why I have had an antique dresser sitting in my garage(testing my husbands patience) for 6 months…waiting for its facelift! I want to paint it and use it in my master bdrm but am a little scared of all the bullet points mentioned above! I have decided to try ASCP since I like the look and can avoid a couple of steps. Regardless…your dresser turned out great! Love the faux bamboo style and am constantly searching Craigs list for similar pieces. Thanks for the inspiration…and wish me luck!
Aaaand this series of panic attacks is pretty much exactly why I’m the only DIY blogger in the history of mankind who has STILL never painted furniture. Not kidding. You’re giving me hope though!! Maybe it’s possible?!
I’m sharing this post on my facebook page. And you can’t stop me.
Of course there’s hope, Kelly! I seem to recall that you sewed LINED drapes. All professional style. What’s a little paint compared to that?! (And thanks again for the FB love)
So funny! So real! So glad I found you…or you found me. Dresser is glam. And I am not sure if we covered this but our baby names were narrowed down to Eleanor and Penelope. Quinn picked Eleanor. So there you have it…great minds think alike.
I loved your post – hilarious! I’ve had those same thoughts – especially the pep talk about how you have to do the project because Dear Husband dragged the dresser/pallet/large, unwieldy piece of furniture home. I loved the dresser. Thank you for the laugh and the tutorial-ish.
Thanks, Karen. If all the husbands of all the crafty ladies out there got together, oh the stories they’d tell!
It’s my first visit after seeing the facebook post from Kelly at View Along the Way. Love it!!!! I’m sitting in a room that is exactly the same colour as your dresser so we’re destined to be friends:)
Thanks, Carol! A whole room of navy? Color me jealous!
Thank you for being real!!! That’s exactly how it works when I try to paint furniture. Nightmare! Love your writing- so funny!
love the color with the gold!
WOW! Your dresser turned out so beautiful! I love the navy and gold combo
Thanks, Caitlin! I’m kind of addicted to navy. And gold. So I guess it was inevitable
This is quite possibly the most awesome thing I’ve read in ages – possibly due in part to the fact that I am stumbling my way through a paint makeover on my grandma’s oak hutch. No pressure. Wine has helped me with the guilt… enough said haha.I think the dresser came out beautifully, despite the panic attacks and years off of your life – totally worth it (in my eyes anyway!).
Thanks, Andrea! I totally underestimated how nerve-wracking and tedious a dresser re-do would be. Turns out being an avid design/DIY blog reader doesn’t necessarily prepare one for actually painting furniture. He he… Good luck with grandma’s hutch. It sounds like you’re putting lots of love into the piece, so no guilt at all.
Love the dresser! I’ve been kicking around the idea of repainting some old worn furniture in my apartment…but know that it is bound to be a giant pain in the arse! This post has inspired me…and love your writing. Very funny.
Thanks, Michaela! I can’t lie, this paint job was a bit of a pain. But for me it was worth it in the end…this time. Next time I’ll know more of what I’m getting into. If you decide to go for it, just expect a long, tedious, messy process. And if it isn’t bad, you’ll be pleasantly surprised
I bought a 6 drawer Bali High Chest of drawers today at a Yard sale for $5. It needs a new top but i’m planning on using the old one as a template to make a new one. Loved the idea of painting the hardware. I was gonna replace but painting will def save $. Great project.
Wow, FIVE dollars?! That is a steal and a half. Well done. The horizontal six drawer chest is actually my favorite. Truth by told, my nine drawer dresser is a bit overscale for my bedroom. But I couldn’t help myself when I finally had the chance to get some Bali Hai. Good luck with yours! What color are you thinking?
I think you have done an awesome job! I also have those brush stroke anxiety/ lack of paint knowledge/ lack of patience. I have heaps of projects that I wanted to paint but have failed in the past… I am determined to get better skills and i have to paint the whole house inside/ outside and fences this summer.
Knowing i have a lot to do I purchased a spray painter that can use water and enamel based paints. So far I have two coats of primer on chairs and its been amazing!
Fingers crossed the high gloss enamel layer goes on well!
Ooooo, a sprayer. Color me jealous! Sounds like you need it with all that work ahead of you — wow! You’ll be a pro when you’re done for sure. And then you can tell me if I should stop being so intimidated by sprayers. I love the idea of them, but I’m kind of afraid to actually use one. Thanks for stopping by, Simone, and thanks for the kinds words.
Too cute! I just had my dear husband haul this exact dresser home… And yes I am looking for a tutorial on how to refinish it! Love your recap. Wish me luck!!!
Good luck, Tracy! It was a bear, but definitely worth it
You are awesome! I have never read through an entire painting post or DYI post….easily distracted…but you are incredibly engaging, funny and a great teacher to boot.
I love that piece. I have a Lingerie chest that I have been unsure what color to paint…think I am going to go with a glossy white.
I’ll let you know how I make out.
Keep writing!!! You rock!!!
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Great post, honest tutorial, and even better monologue. I adore faux bamboo and have quite a few pieces, but am terrified to paint them. Sure, I can paint furniture (exactly the way you described, by the way), but I am nervous that I will regret covering the original finish/color.
My first time reading your blog… laughed out loud a few times! As a gal with a biz painting furniture I hear ya on all the woes and will check back to read about your future projects. I have done a few Bali Hai pieces myself and I think you did a fantastic job! Next time, spray whenever possible! Love your writing style… from a new reader!
Wow, thanks so much Meredith. So glad you stopped by
OK, now I have permission from a pro to go the spray route. Thanks for that! Although I’ll probably stick to pieces with nice clean lines and simple shapes for future painting projects…But then again, I’ve been known to forget myself and get in over my head…