Revamp old dresser with road signs

A friend of mine gave me a beat up old dresser that was in need of some serious love. 

The finish was chipped and gouged all over and there were various parts that were either loose, broken, or missing. But the dresser case was well-built, as were the nice dovetailed drawer boxes, so I thought it was a great candidate for a makeover. 

My goals with this dresser were to: 1) restore it to its original functionality, and 2) make it unique and much more awesome.

I'm happy with how it turned out. Thanks for taking a look.

Step 1: Drawer fronts with character

The external wood portions of the dresser were finished with stain and polyurethane, and the drawer fronts were covered with pieces of old road signs. I like the way the finished wood surfaces contrast with the ratty sections of old signage. Each scrape, crack, and mar on the signs add a bit of character. 

The flat black handles were chosen because they were simple and inconspicuous, and they allowed the colorful drawer fronts get all the attention. I think they fit the piece perfectly.

Comments

[Hmff]

very nice

[WorkingGunn]

that is beautiful

[EducationSmellsSweet]

This is very off topic, but where did you get that fantastic Darth Vader? I have a nephew who would adore it!

[M3G]

Awesome! Now I just need to get some signs...

[BarginsTech]

I Love this!!! And i love the donut thing! Great idea when you work at a donut shop like mee haha :] Is there anyway to seal the signs? Dont they chip sometimes?

[seamster]

Good question. I sealed the sign pieces with polyurethane just like the wood (I actually addressed this in step 7).

Glad you liked it. Thanks for the comment!

[vincent7520]

Is it part of a contest ??

I vote !…

[Dusk Shadows]

Dude this is soo cool

[benpic10]

I really like this 'ible and hope i could get around to doing something like it at some point, my only question would be; where did you get the signs from?

[seamster]

(removed by author or community request)

[benpic10]

Oh awkward haha, serves me right, should have read further

[lowky]

That came out really nice. I also like the drawer configuration, never seen a dresser quite like that with the "mini" drawers, but they would sure come in handy for things like socks etc.

[seamster]

Thanks! Yep, I'd never seen one like it either. I've got two of my boys sharing it, and they kind of fought over who got the odd extra drawer for a while!

[Attmos]

Very creative and well done, as usual.

[seamster]

Thank you for the compliment!

[Ninzerbean]

This is so gorgeous. What blade did you use on your circular saw and did you have to go through a few of them? Did you cut from the top-side or bottom-side of the signs?

[seamster]

Thank you. I used a standard circular saw blade, but it was an older one--still sharp but not brand new. I made cuts from both the front and back sides of the signs. I was concerned about chip-out on the sign faces, but it didn't happen at all.

[Ninzerbean]

Was it a metal cutting blade? Was it a blade for wood and metal? For aluminium? I don't think the guy at HD is going to know what a standard saw blade is because they like to be difficult. How many teeth per inch (just an aprox.)

[seamster]

Oop, sorry. By standard, I meant a 24-tooth wood framing blade. (It's the most common circular saw blade.)

Are you going to makeover a dresser like this? If you do, be sure to post a photo here when you're done!

[PotatoCoffee]

This looks so cool! Voted!

[wold630]

Wow! Really great work. The dresser is fantastic!

[Creativeman]

Great concept and function!

[timm.tanner]

Fantastic!

Great job on everything. the repairs look good, the photos and explanations are great, even the sections of sign you used and the orientation is just perfect. Well Done.

[seamster]

Thank you very much. I really like the way it turned out.

[mikeasaurus]

That looks great! I like the weathered look of those old signs.