Free Facebook Marketplace Dresser Makeover
- By Joan
- September 6, 2023
- 4 Comments
Free Facebook Marketplace Dresser Makeover
Over the past several months I’ve had a great time filling this house in Luray Virginia. It’s my son’s house that he purchased to use as an Airbnb. My job was to find lamps, side tables, headboards, trashcans, kitchen gadgets, wall decor, chairs, a desk, tables….and of course dressers. My list was 4 pages long which had me shopping thrift stores, Facebook Marketplace, online auctions and of course, my own projects.
This is one of the dressers I found off a Facebook Marketplace listing. I couldn’t resist the price, FREE!
The owner of the dresser even reached out to me after I agreed on the when and where to pick up, just to make sure I really wanted it. It seems that a drawer was broken and it was pretty badly scratched. Of course. Did I mention it was FREE?!!
This little baby just needed a few repairs. The lower left leg was split. Wood glue and a clamp, and it’s good as new.
The bottom broken drawer was a broken drawer slide. More wood glue and a splint clamped and let dry overnight, the drawer was good as new.
What looked like a solid wood top was actually particle board covered with formica. I could have painted it, but that formica was really interfering with my hopes of a beautiful natural wood top.
The trim piece that hung just below the particle board was solid wood. I could use that.
What I did have in my stash was this side table. It was missing a drawer (but that’s another story) and I was looking to use it for parts. Incredibly enough, the top was solid wood and the absolute perfect width for my dresser. I did have to chop an inch off the back but that was easy to do.
Back to the dresser makeover…prepare the drawers and sides for paint. I filled in the existing drawer pull holes with a wood filler, Durhams water putty. Sand when dry. If your surface is slick, you’ll have to lightly sand your entire piece to give the paint something to adhere to. Clean with a lint free cloth.
Other than the top, the entire piece got a coat of black chalk paint.
I like to sand the edges to give a worn in look. Finish with clear or antique wax. When the wax is dry, buff with a fine steel wool to bring out the sheen of the wax.
Now back to that top. This is the piece of wood I pulled off the side table. I used an electric sander with fine sand paper to take off the existing finish on the top and hand sanded the edges.
On the dresser itself, I used a handheld jigsaw to cut the existing particle board top so that it was even with the rest of the dresser.
The trim that I had taken off the original dresser perfectly covers up the edges of the particle board. I nailed the trim back into place.
The newly sanded top got two coats of Watco Danish oil in a dark walnut finish. Isn’t that a gorgeous finish?
In between coats of the danish oil, if you have any rough spots, buff with fine steel wool.
I attached the new top to the dresser with construction adhesive.
Ready for handles.
The dresser makeover is complete and he is all settled in his new home.
BTW, the plaster lath flag is from 2021.
This is the other end of the room that has the bar stool side tables.
As always, until next time , stay inspired.
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Amazing, such a nice and resourceful job. Did you send the previous owner a photo of the finished dresser? Tee hee. ☺️
Wow, the dresser looks great, wowser! I really like the looks of the Danish oil, it really stands out beautifully. I didn’t really understand why you didn’t just strip off the old top but I am going to assume it had to do with being sturdy.
Is your sons place ready to go yet? Hope it is a successful venture.
Thanks Joan
Your son is one lucky man! A great job, as usual. I wish you had a show on HGTV!
The dresser looks great.