DIY Vintage Dresser

I’ve spent the past few days searching through just about every thrift store in Knoxville looking for an old dresser to re-do. Unfortunately, I just never found one that I loved. I knew I had a cheap Target dresser stored somewhere, but, being that it’s made out of cheap wood and particle wood, I thought there was no way I could re-do it. Well, it wasn’t until I ran out of thrift stores that I turned to my storage closet. I pulled the dresser out to see what I could possibly make of it. After some brainstorming and some suggestions, I came up with a plan. I was so pleasantly surprised with my end product that I had to share! The neat thing about this furniture tutorial is that you could probably find almost the exact dresser at Target or Walmart.

Materials Needed:

a dresser

enough slats of wood to cover the top of your dresser (mine took 7 pieces of 2.5x33” wood)

power saw

wood screws

drill

wood stain & a paint brush (my stain is Minwax Weathered Oak 270)

tape

knobs of your choice

medium grit and fine grit sandpaper

Measure the top of your dresser and determine how you need to cut your wood to fit it.

Mark your pieces of wood and cut them with your power saw.

It may seem like you could lay your pieces on your dresser in any order, but there is actually a little strategy to it. Try different pieces of wood in different places, and eventually they should sort of fit together. Mark tiny numbers on each piece so you know where they go.

Sand each piece of wood with medium grit sandpaper followed by fine grit sandpaper. Wipe down each piece of wood with a wet paper towel.

Starting at one end of your dresser, place your first piece of wood down. Firmly hold it in place and drill a small pilot hole in one side. Now, screw in a wood screw. Drill a hole in the other side and in the middle, and screw your wood screws in those holes too.  Follow this procedure for each piece of wood, making sure your screws are aligned. Some of my pieces of wood were warped, so I had someone push my piece of wood against the dresser as I screwed it in to prevent a bumpy surface.

After your pieces of wood are all attached, tape the dresser directly under your wood.

Paint a layer of stain on your wood and wait 15 minutes. Now, wipe your wood with a rag. Let your stain sit for 4-6 hours.

While your stain is drying, you can change out your knobs! I found mine at Home Depot for $1.20 each.

After your knobs are in, sand the corners and edges of your dresser. I did most of my distressing on my drawers, because they were the best quality wood, and thus, easiest to sand down.

After 4-6 hours have passed, you can decide whether you want to add another layer of stain or not. If so, just repeat the same process as earlier. (I did 3 layers of stain on mine.) 

Let all that stain dry, and there you are -- your vintage dresser is complete! It hardly looks like the same piece of furniture if you ask me. :)

-A