diy: dresser turned kitchen cabinet

Remember months ago when I promised a diy post about another dresser we had remodeled to fit in our kitchen. Well, here it is...just a tad bit late... I could blame it on a whole bunch of things, but instead let's just talk details.  

Our goal was to turn this walnut dresser into a updated two-toned dresser to store baking sheets and pans, spices, etc. in our small (rather dark) kitchen. I wanted to be sure that any furniture we added would not make the space feel any smaller. We also wanted a versatile, neutral color that would transition well into other rooms in the future.

Here's the "before" minus the hardware:

1st step: stripping
We covered the sides with a drop cloth, donned on some gloves, and applied the stripper with a paintbrush. After letting it sit on the top for an hour or two, we removed the excess goop with a stripper tool and a scrubber. Then we used mineral spirits to remove any remaining sticky spots.  

2nd: bleaching
The top was still much darker than what we wanted, so we decided to bleach the wood. Side note: I'm not entirely sure that you can tell we did this step in our finished product because of the shellac we used. Oh well, live and learn...

3rd: sanding

Then after the wood bleach was wiped off with water. We let it dry and then sanded down the grain that had been raised in the process. 

4th: sealing

We followed the sanding with a clear spray shellac over the top to seal the wood. (Sorry, no pictures of that part). We used Zinnser Clear Shellac Traditional Finish (the same shellac we used in our prior projects), but in a spray form.

5th: sanding/painting 

Finally, it was time to paint the lower part of the dresser and the drawers! Before we painted we lightly sanded everything, so the paint would stick. We found that three coats of Behr (in a shade of white that I forget what it's called) were needed to cover the dark wood. We chose the satin enamel finish to give the dresser a bit of gloss and to enable easy clean up of messy kitchen spills.

Our diy process was slowed significantly when we discovered that the distance between the drawer handle holds is an uncommon size. None of the major suppliers sell 4 1/2 inch pulls in stores. After a few weeks of searching we finally found some on ebay. They aren't my favorite handles, but the options were slim. We spray painted the handles with Rust-oleum Satin Nickel Metallic Paint and Primer in One. I would have preferred to find sleeker handles, but this was the best we could do without paying $20 a handle.

The finished product! It fits perfectly under our window to the living/dining room. I cannot stress enough how much I desperately needed the extra space for all the miscellaneous kitchen stuff. My spices fit perfectly in the top right drawer, the big middle drawers are perfect for baking pans and cutting boards, and the smaller drawers are great for immersion blenders, strainers, etc.

I absolutely love the way the finish highlights the beautiful grain of the wood!

If you're looking to improve your kitchen or add some storage, I'd recommend finding your own dresser in need of some tlc and get refinishing! 

diy dresser with rustic wooden top

Ready for the sequel to the nighstand project? This one is my personal favorite! Perhaps because I now have a new dresser for the first time in my life! I love that I can picture this dresser sitting in an overly priced home store with a gigantic budget-busting price on it. But it's not from Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware, Anthrolopie or West Elm, we transformed it! It might have taken some time to complete, but the finished product is exactly the look we were hoping to create!

Here's a look at the before picture - your standard 70s dresser ready for a makeover!

Dresser step-by-step:
1. Clean the dresser and drawers with a cloth and remove the old hardware. Do you think anyone will buy the hardware at a garage sale??
2. Apply a coat of Behr Hazelnut Creme on the dresser and outside of the drawers and let it dry overnight. Note: not the best idea to paint in the grass on newspaper, but spring fever was calling...

3. Apply a second coat of paint.
4. Lightly sand the corners and edges of the dresser and drawers and remove any sanding dust. Use a fine grit paper.

5. Apply a coat of Zinnser Clear Shellac Traditional Finish and Sealer (the same shellac we used in the nightstand project).

6. Replace the old knobs and pulls with new hardware from Home Depot.

And the icing on top of the cake - the dark rustic wooden top:
1. We picked up two 2x6x10s and had the Home Depot man cut them in half for us.
2. We wanted the wooden top to hang over the original dresser top by an 1 1/2" on each side, so we cut the 2x6s to be 53" long. And by "we," I mean my dad and hubster - I draw the line at super fast spinning metal blades. I'd like to keep all my fingers...
3. One board was also cut to be 3 1/2" wide so  it would sit flush with the back of the dresser against the wall.
4. After making the cuts, remove all the sawdust. Leftover sawdust + stain = not the best idea
5. Then apply a coat of Old Masters Spanish Oak Wiping Stain to the boards. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes then remove most of the stain with a cloth. Turn the boards over after they are dry to touch and coat the other side. Allow the boards to dry overnight.
6. Apply a coat of shellac to all sides of the 2x6s (flip the boards after a half hour to coat the other side).
7. Use a biscuit cutter and wood glue to attach the four boards to each other. The biscuits allowed us to attach the boards to each other without any visible nails or screws.
9. Place the 2x6 board on top on the dresser. It's currently resting on a drawer liner we bought at the dollar store to keep it from scratching the top of the dresser. If you have kids and are thinking about doing this project, you might want to screw the boards into the dresser.

I absolutely love the rustic top mixed with a sleek dresser. Can't wait until we get to work on our headboard and footboard in a few weeks! I promise I'll try to capture each step in the diy process next time!

P.S. If you liked what we did with this dresser, check out how we upcycled an old dresser into a kitchen storage cabinet for our tiny kitchen.