Paint an Old Dresser to Really Tie the Room Together

We have our first child on the way and needed a dresser for the kid. I have had this old dresser since I was a child. It's really just fake laminate and particle board but pretty solid. The dark lacquered walnut really doesn't scream baby room either. We received a child comforter set that had all kinds of bright colors. I decided to try to match the colors and paint the dresser drawers. The dark wood of the body lets the dresser drawers really stand out on their own. I also had the idea that I could find some varied knobs to really make the dresser eclectic. I went looking at antique centers and lucked out. I found a bag a random knobs for $2!

First, I went to the hardware store and grabbed and bunch a swatches that were close to the colors that were on the blanket. You may want to take the item you are trying to match with you. You'd be surprised how many varied colors there are and how many swatches you can grab before even getting close. If you can't take it with you, don't be shy to just grab as many swatches as you think are close to being close and take them home. Even after going through all the colors, sometimes there is no exact match. You just have to just pick the best closest match. If you are in between two colors, I recommend looking at all the other selections together to make the decision. In my case Behr paint had the most selection so I went with it. The best part is that you can buy the 7oz sample paints for $2.95. Samples only come in matte, so be prepared to shell out more money for the larger cans if you want a different finish.

Second comes the sanding and priming. If you don't like sanding and have lighter colored finish or wood you are painting over you may be able to get away with just enough sanding to rough it up and apply a primer. However the darker the wood or finish underneath or the wrong kind of oil based finish, you probably need to sand it down pretty good to the bare wood. Once you start applying primer, it's pretty obvious if it will work or not. If not, just suck it up and sand it down.

Finish if off with a couple or three coats of paint, with a very light sanding in between the coats, and install the knobs.