Dress Up Your Dresser - on a budget

When I married my husband, we were blessed with one four-drawer dresser he had owned since childhood that was missing most of its hardware and had moisture rings all over the top. We didn't have the budget or space to upgrade. So we did what we do best and made what we already had perfect for us.

 
Here's what you need for a simple dresser upgrade:
Paint- we used eggshell finish latex paint and our dresser required less than a quart.
Sandpaper- because of all the flat surfaces, this is a great project for a belt sander or palm sander but if you don't have either of those, any sand paper (I prefer 150 grit) and a little elbow grease will do the trick.
Paint Brush- the best kind of brush is a high quality latex bristle brush, this will make the project much easier.
Hardware- get whatever handles make you happy, that fit the measurements of the holes made for the previous hardware (we didn't measure and got the wrong hardware at first)


Step 1: Sand It- Take the drawers out and sand the finish from all the surfaces.

Step 2: Dust It- Make sure to remove all the dust before you start painting or they will show up in your finished project.

Step 3: Tape It- This project doesn't need a ton of tape prep work. The only place we found should be taped is the inside of the drawers behind the hardware openings.

Step 4: Paint It- Do a light first coat on the drawer faces, and exterior of the dresser. Use long brush strokes from end to end with the grain just to lightly cover the surface. Using long brush strokes is vital to avoid marks in the finished project. Allow the first coat to dry completely before applying the second coat or it could remove some of the first coat. Apply a generous amount for the second coat; again using long brush strokes from end to end with the grain.

Step 5: Complete It- Allow it to dry before you add hardware. Then allow it to cure (required cure time can be found on the label) before reassembling.

Enjoy your new-to-you dresser :)