the nursery dresser

One of the tricky things about not knowing the baby's gender before the big day is that the nursery is an afterthought. For me, anyway. I couldn't think about it until I met this baby first.  With the other two girls, I had very specific ideas and lots of time before they were born.  But this last little miracle was my big surprise. 

And after two girls I knew that if we had a boy, this would be a very fun boy room.  Daddy would finally get his little St Louis Cardinals nursery and have (what he considers) a valid reason for purchasing a life-size Albert Pujols stand-up cutout (which I am sure wouldn't have scared the crickets out of me in those middle of the night feedings at ALL).

Of course, my weakness is for little girls rooms, and I knew that if the last little member of our clan was of the pink persuasion, a gender neutral room just. would. not. do.

And, of course, we had another girl.

Whew.  What a long winded way to say, hey, I got a dresser for the nursery at a thrift store for 25 bucks and I'm going to paint it.  Either white or yellow or pink or red. 

Who am I kidding?  It's definitely going to be pink.

It is actually in very good condition.  The white markings are where the last paint job was worn, not gauges.  The dresser was made by Dixie and it is solid wood, even between the drawers.  It's crazy heavy and should last a long time.

Once I get it done.  Which means that if I have the time to write this post, I probably have the time to clean, sand, and prep this puppy.   If you need me, I'll be in the garage.  (At least until little miss sparklepants calls me back in. )

xoxo

Comments

[nikko]

What fun! Can't wait to see!

(The only furniture I seem to find while thrifting is particle board and rickety. Sigh.)

[Christina]

Wow, that's fab! Is the woodgrain a faux finish then? If so, it looks very well done from the photos.

[mary -the calico cottage]

Excellent thrift score. It will be so pretty in pink!

[Shanna]

If that is one of those blonde wood 60's finishes on there you will really need to sand the dickens out of it before trying to paint. I found that out the hard way with some furniture I got when we moved my grandma. The paint just fell right off the darn stuff until I got out my Mouse Sander and the super rough sand paper. Hopefully your project will be easier. Can't wait to see the finished product and congrats on your baby girl. ;)

[Diane]

Benjamin Moore makes a fantastic primer called Sticks (or maybe Stix?). You can get paint to stick to glass if you prime with that stuff first--no kidding. I painted a cheap Sauder piece with it and the paint is sticking great even with kids and a small jumpy dog in the house. Just throwing it out there in case you need a good primer.

[chris carleton]

Thanks for the tip, shanna!

On Tue, Sep 22, 2009 at 9:34 AM, wrote:

[chris carleton]

Thanks! I usually use a Zissner stick-to-anything primer first... and I've
had great luck with it too. Glad to know there is a back up option too!!
xo

On Tue, Sep 22, 2009 at 10:48 AM, wrote:

[kirsten]

awesome find, chris! and of COURSE it'll be pink! seriously.

although... yellow would be cool, too.

[amy h]

That is an excellent piece of furniture! I wish I had known about the sticky primer when I painted a dresser...

[Nikki]

That dresser has great lines. Can't wait to see it after you've prettied it up!

[Liz]

I bet it is going to look amazing when it is done. I just don't have the "eye" for things like that. I need you to thrift with me to help me see the possibilities...

[Molly]

I stumbled upon your blog just a few days ago and I love it! :) I, too, am a wife, mother of two young girls, a sewer/crafter and thrift store enthusiast! :) One of my favorite patterns is Simplicity 5118 - Dress B. Super easy and fast.