My roadside Find.... BIG MAKE OVER

Roadside dresser make over

Hey everyone, hope you are all well. This past couple of weeks have been absolutely crazy and busy for us but we found this dresser. I saw it on Marketplace and the owner had placed the picture of it on the roadside, I messaged asking if I could it have. They said yes, so my Husband went to pick it up and found it at the end of the driveway. I thought it was such a cool piece and how the drawers looked weaved and knew I could give it a make over.

It can be intimidating seeing large pieces of furniture on the roadside and not knowing what to do with it but you so desperately love it you want to take it anyway. Don't be afraid to pick it up and take it home, if you are a beginner and want to learn, follow along and learn step by step what to do. You don't have to do exactly what i do for this design, but this gives you an idea or some inspiration.

It's crazy, we never find anything good on the roadsides in my area, furniture is mostly sold in Facebook marketplace or Kijiji or other buy and sell pages.
When I saw this piece, i thought the drawers looked so unique and had to get it.

I also have a YouTube video out this week on this dresser if you prefer to watch than read.

When I got this dresser home it was filthy, absolutely filled with dirt from the storm we had just had. The outside had tape on it and mud in the drawers, mostly the bottom ones and the underneath. I grabbed my portable vacuum and started vacuuming the outside and everywhere basically.
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Once I had vacuumed the outside and the inside drawers, I cleaned the entire piece. I took out the bottom drawers and filled a bucket with hot water and a small amount of bleach. I grabbed a rag and cleaned the entire bottom and outside.

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I did'nt like a groove that was on the top so I filled it in with wood filler.

Then I sprayed the underneath, backing, underneath the drawers and inside the drawers. I knew there wasn't bed bugs but I wanted to make sure as I had gotten this dresser on the roadside and didn't know the reason for the owner to throw it out. Once I let it sit for a bit I then wiped it all down with water and cleaner, after that I vacuumed again. I wanted this piece to be really clean and new again.

Once this piece was completely clean to my satisfaction, I then started to scuff sand the entire piece and sand various drawer panels, the ones that formed a pattern.

Once everything was cleaned inside and out and scuff sanded and sanded panels, i wiped it all down again to remove sand dust. Then finally it was time for the fun parts, priming and painting.
I primed by using my favourite primer, Kiltz Restoration and did 3 coats, sanding in between coats with 220 grit sanding paper.

I had to re-sand the rounded edge so that it was completely smooth. Below is how it looks after priming. I then painted using my sprayer and Lichen by Cottage Paint and Varnish in Satin. (USE CODE LUBBLY10 FOR 10% OFF Cottage Paint) click here. 

I sanded in between paint coats with 1000 grit sanding block and then gave the wood panels a beige paint wash spraying a little water and wiping off the excess. I then sanded each panel with the sanding block and then lined each drawer with peel and stick wallpaper from Lowes. I sealed the entire piece with Cottage Paint Varnish. And below is the final look

Although this roadside find was a lot of work it brough me so much joy to see the final result which in my opinion turned out amazing.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog and I hope that it helps you find some great pieces on the side of the road and that you won't be discouraged but have confidence that you can turn something into something beautiful

take care

​Meg