The dresser for the nursery is finally finished. I never took a true ‘before’ shot, but it was a lovely wood dresser with a poor finish. It was in our garage for a while and then it sat primed in the basement because I wasn’t sure what color to paint it. White would have been a nice, safe choice, but I think pink is much more fun (especially since we left the walls of the nursery neutral).
The doors in the front open to reveal two more drawers. They’re still the original wood color for now, though Brandon thinks they’re a good opportunity to add another (brighter/bolder) color.
I lined the drawers with the crazy lady floral wallpaper that I bought for the dining room (and did NOT use). The teeny tiny baby clothes look really sweet against the lining.
92 comments
Christina
I just found your blog through Honest to Nod and love this dresser. You have inspired me!! I have a little girl 8 months old. I have the nursery all set except this armoire that I want to paint. It was passed down to me and has a painted farm scene on it…not our taste ;) So I wanted to paint the armoire pink…but some said I should just paint it white…so after deciding on a pink…I started looking at white samples…well…you have have convinced me…it is being painted pink!! You did a great job…any tips how to paint the furniture? What finish did you use, brushes, etc…this will be my first time painting a piece of furniture.
Samantha
i love the dresser. I am stuck with a primed dresser as well and have been looking for the perfect pink! what color did you paint yours? its gorgeous!
Making it Lovely
Powder Blush, by Benjamin Moore.
Adriana
What process do you utilize for painting furniture and what color is it?? Thank you!!
Erica
I love, LOVE that dresser – both the style and color! It has completely inspired me as I change my daughter’s room from a baby room to a girls room. Do you know what the style of that dresser is? What would I call it if I tried to google search it? I want to find something as unique and cool. I am completely unappreciative of all the flat-front furniture that is being manufactured today :(.
Thanks.
jen
o, i love that so much! the perfect shade of pink.
Amy Story
Hey that dresser looks wonderful. I have one that I want to do. But I have no idea where to start. CAn you help me please.
Dee Carden
Another paint question. I am in the middle of painting a desk with Aura paint and it’s not looking so good! I usually brush back into my strokes as I’m laying on the paint, usually oil based.
But from your suggestion above, I take it the best way is to brush only in one direction as you lay on first strokes? And then as you recommend, go the other way, feathering into the wet paint?
Kara
This is just gorgeous, I love the shade of pink! Using wallpaper to line the inside of drawers is such a fabulous idea!!
Kimba @ A Soft Place to Land
What a beautiful piece! I linked to you today.
Kimba
http://asoftplacetoland-kimba.blogspot.com/2009/01/saturday-linky-love_31.html
Down Pillow
I love how the doors fly out and expose the internal drawers.
midcentury furniture
almost every women loves pink, if someone says she doesn’t like pink then maybe I’ll need to shoot her down with truth serum!!
Sarah
I love the pink dresser! Its beautiful!
bungalowbliss
That is just the sweetest color…not sickeningly-sweet pink, just perfect. It’s a beautiful piece, and I really, really like the wallpaper you used to line the drawers. Beautiful!
kandice
um, i want that.
Anne @ The City Sage
What an amazing job you did refinishing that dresser–it was a lovely piece to begin with (love the shape and the detailing!) but you took it too a whole other level!
And I’m smiling ear to ear at your egg-a-go-go onesie. i bought that for a co-worker who just welcomed his first child and it is simply adorable!
Kathy
ADORABALE! i love it, i have a baby girl – 7 months. Before I found out, i wanted a boy, but i have been so blessed with my precious daughter, i love having a girl. Congrats to you!!
Making it Lovely
Patricia, I went with a black Jenny Lind crib. Brandon and I each slept in the same style when we were babies – I love that it’s such a classic design.
ruby
the pink is utterly perfect. i love that you went with that over white, i think it is so pretty and feminine… and the fabric in the drawers? i think i might be in love!
your little one has the most beautiful nursery i have ever seen :)
pve design
who would not love playing and reading there or opening those drawers with that lining. It reminds me of my wallpaper when I was a child. Flowery, girly and lovely.
Kelly
Very Sweet!!!!!The play area is a great use of that space. In just a few years it will get lots of use.
kristen
ohhh, this is so SWEET! i love that wallpaper, and LOVE the dresser painted pink. what a sweet little girl’s room! and, it’s great that you are making a room for her to grown into..i am a nanny, and it seems so many parents want to do an “infant” room and then do a “kids'” room, when really the two should be able to go together…after all, they aren’t an infant for very long.
so cute!
Miss B.
I LOVE everything! Is it weird wish you were my mom? Oh how lucky this little girl is!
Kristin
i’m in my 20s and i would love that dresser in my room! wonderful.
JLC
Maybe paint the drawers a fern green?
Amanda
That pink dresser is so sweet!
Cindy
Beautiful dresser. I love that even though you painted it pink, it doesn’t scream “Kid’s room”, so it can grow with her.
Hilary
Oh wow i love the dresser, its gorgeous.
Krysta
The dresser is gorgeous! I want one for myself in the same pink!
Patricia Fontes
Love the dresser! I am also having a girl, didn’t decide yet for furniture! Good ideas! Which crib did you get?
Kelley Lilien
totally TOTALLY inspired to re-fab a few of my furniture pieces! You’ve got magic, girl – everything you touch turns to gold! Love your stuff – every single morsel!!!
inspired…
Kelley
seesaw designs
this is really gorgeous! great job.
teresa
I’m an idiot – I just re-read the post where it stated that you had primed the dresser before you painted it. Please disregard my previous question. I think I’m getting “pregnancy brain”.
L
I love it! I really like brown and pink these days. So I’d go for the chocolate color or a light brown on the drawers, but the green is also a nice color. I think white would be anticlimactic given the drawer lining and the outside paint.
I love the tshirt! I have a few friends who are expecting and they’ll be getting that tshirt!
Amy@OldSweetSong
Excuse me while I clean up the drool that is now all over my keyboard. That is one gorg piece of fruniture. Well done!
xin
Gorgeous piece! Cannot wait to see the finished room!
nikki
love it. love old furniture. great idea.
Lisa
Gorgeous! From my experience with friends and families babies, drawer storage is very useful with babies. Just a thought, you should use the liner paper on the front of the drawers ;)
Take care,
Lisa
teresa
I already left a comment on this beautiful pink dresser, but I have a question for you…I’m about to start on my own dresser project and I’m wondering if you primed or sanded your piece before you painted. I know that Aura paint (I’ve used it on my walls) doesn’t really need much prep, but I’m wondering what you did to the wood surface before you started to make sure the paint wouldn’t flake or peel over time? Thanks so much!
April
This is so pretty!
Kristin
I had a dresser just like from baby to teen! I have no idea where my parents put it (tossed out?!?) but I loved that sweet swing door dresser! Very cool. I like the paper lined drawers too. mine where lined with violet…everything was violet from my mom. hence why I don’t love the color now.
I like the idea of painting the drawers a suprise color. Bright pink, or soft orange color from the paper?
homedotmade
I vote for the lovely orange color to coordinate with the drawer liner wallpaper for the inside spots. A little unexpected bit of “pop” that will be awesome yet not overwhelming since you’re not looking at it in the room all the time.
Marybeth at www.babygoodbuys.com
So sweet! What a gorgeous piece of furniture!
christina
This is lovely.
What about painting the drawers the same colour or brighter pink, then glue a wallpaper panel to the flat edge ? Either the exact dimensions of the wood bit or w/ a thick border of the newly painted wood exposed.
:O)
christina
A Thrifty Mrs
Ever so, ever so pretty.
alivicwil
Oh! I forgot to say that I really appreciate the way that you take the time to reply to commenters and offer advice and tips on how to go about doing things :)
Thank you. (Even though someone else asked the question, I’ve always wondered about minimising brush strokes.)
alivicwil
dammit!
One of my new year’s resolutions was to not be so clucky! It’s a bit difficult when half the Internet seems to be pregnant, and people such as your good self post such beautiful things they’re doing for their baby.
tamstyles
I love what you did with that. I am offically gonna have one “old” room for my grannys furniture and old things that I have redone. Character…yep thats it. Man your blog is really great. I love reading it.
erin
the dresser turned out awesome! the pale pink is so pretty. i think that coral/orange or the green from the wallpaper would be so cute on the inside drawers!
cant wait to see the finished nursery!
Brooke
LOVE the lines in that dresser! What a great find!
Also – a trick for hiding the paintbrush lines: don’t overbrush, and make your last stroke the entire length of the piece. That way you don’t have any start/stop marks. You could also make that last stroke with a foam brush to illiminate the tiny lines you get from paintbrushes.
Krystal
Oh my this is darling I love the dresser and the color is perfect!
Making it Lovely
Say you were painting something from from top to bottom. You would make your first brush stroke from the top down, maybe nine inches or so. Then for your next stroke, you wouldn’t start where you left off, you’d start another nine inches down and work up, feathering out your brush stroke where it overlaps with the previous. Does that make sense?
Melanie
Nicole, I am still confused as to what you are saying in regards to dry to wet??? Sorry if this is a stupid question. Maybe I am just exhausted from work and my brain is fried.
Making it Lovely
The onesie says “When Two People Love Each Other VERY Much…” and it is pretty much the most awesome baby shirt ever! It’s from eggagogo.
The pink paint is Aura by Benjamin Moore in “Powder Blush” satin finish. The way to minimize brush strokes is to always go from dry to wet (feathering out as you reach the wet paint), don’t glop the paint on but don’t try to stretch it out either, and use a good quality brush.
Nick Klaus
I simply love it! Me being me, I’d paint the inside white. It’s clean, classic, and is a nice counterpart to the pink.
Fiona
I think that is so adorable. Great job! The lining paper is fantastic, too.
Diane
I like the drawers as is, but if you were going to paint, I would vote for a nice yellow (tangerine would also be nice as someone else already suggested).
And does that wee baby tee say something to the effect of “I’m what happens when two people love each very much” or am I not reading the half that is visible correctly? Because if that is what it says, it would pretty much be the most awesome baby shirt ever.
Danielle Melnyczenko
GORGEOUS… loving the pink and the brass hardware. I agree with Brandon that the draws need some colour. Can’t wait to see the whole room :D
Elizabeth
I’d kill for a dresser similar to this one. It would go perfect in my little girls room!!! I’m going to have to hit a few thrift stores :)
Bryn
This is one of the most beautiful pieces I’ve ever seen! Seriously! Please do tell – what shade of pink is that?
dayna
AH! that is fantastic!! I thinking about painting my dresser and desk and bed frame pink and this has convinced me to totally do it!
xox
Nancy Kay
It looks great! I really love that wallpaper as well…now I want to wallpaper something…like this horrible desk of mine
Lindsey
Amazing! So beautiful I want one for myself.
Your little one’s room is going to be so hip!
{ Lindsey }
http://www.coveiter.com
Caroline
So pretty! While the brown drawers looks lovely as-is, if you want to paint them I think a nice tangerine would look pretty and coordinate with the drawer liners.
Brad
Nice work! Do you have any recommendations for minimizing brushstrokes? When I’ve painted furniture, I’ve used oil-based paint, and I’ve sanded like crazy, but I still can’t get it smooth enough! Advice?
Amanda
That dresser is absolutely amazing! I love the wallpaper you have lined it with as well!
casafroggy
Beautiful job :) While I’m sure you did the priming way back when the pink paint is probably Brandon’s handiwork, bravo to him! I like the idea of a different paint color for the drawers, my vote is white to match the flowers in the drawer liner.
Rosie
Oh its so sweet! Love it!
Jen M
Oh, it’s just lovely! When I saw the drawer fronts I immediately thought “wallpaper!” to decorate them – then I read about the wallpaper inside the drawers. What a pretty design.
mrslimestone
Love it! The perfect shade of pale pink.
Carol
What a sweet piece for the nursery. You’ve definitely made that dresser lovely.
drey
i love this nic! so classy, i especialy like the lines of the dresser, particularly the sides and legs… you did such a good paint job on it too! is it semi gloss?
Desiree Fawn
That pink is very adorable & I loooove the drawer liner!
I’ve been moving things around and decorating our little one’s room for weeks now – I can’t wait for her arrival!
teresa
What a great shade of pink – love the look! The wallpaper is so fun. I love it when the inside of drawers are given some attention. I usually paint mine, but I’m diggin’ the wallpaper idea (I may have to borrow it). I too have a dresser (from Goodwill) waiting for a coat of paint for our nursery. Ugh, so much to do still!
Jules
That wallpaper looks so much better in person. It looks even better in a drawer as a liner. I guess it was meant to be. :)
Desiree
Very cute! I like the brown drawers with the pink paint but if you must paint it I would either use the same pink or white.
-Desiree
Kerry
I think either the more acidic green or darker pink from the crazy lady wallpaper would be nice on the inside of the dresser — but at this point you probably don’t want to look at it anymore, nevermind start painting it again!
Christy
Love it! I totally agree with Brandon too. A fun green or even chocolate would be cool inside.
Jessica
This turned out great and is totally inspiring! I’m really looking forward to seeing pics of the nursery when it’s finished!
lori
so nice! i’d love to see it with a “surprise” color in the inside drawers!
Ashley
adorable!!! the wallpaper lining gives it the perfect pop!
Erin
That dresser looks great painted pink – well done! I have a bright red dresser at home that I repainted years ago. It’s about ready for a new color – I doubt my boyfriend would go for pink… but maybe a nice bright green or similar.
casey
I love the pale pink. perfect for you and your house. can’t wait to see the final nursery!
vol25
I love it! What a great find.
Averill
That wallpaper lining looks like you bought it especially for that pink dresser. It’s perfect.
Jenny
The dresser turned out great! I like the choice of pink, it make is spunky but it still has a traditional feel to it.
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