A big THANKS to the person that left this dovetailed dresser on the side of the road as trash.  It now has a new look to go with it's new home on my upstairs landing.  It's not perfect, but that's what made it perfect for a new coat of paint.

It didn't have any character or style, but that's what made it an enticingly perfect 

blank canvas.  I considered painting a landscape on it but decided it could use some fun (faux) dimension.  The colors I chose to use are ones I wouldn't get tired of too easily, despite the loud pattern I'd be putting them in. (Dominant colors picked from nature, like dark brown, tan, blue and green tend to be

more livable and to the eye read like

colors we label as neutrals.)  

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After a day of patching and sanding, I was ready to prime it.  I then gave it a coat of green paint, then began measuring to mark where I'd be placing Frogtape.  I needed to mark the middle of each drawer, horizontally and vertically.  Then, I could tape off two triangles at a time to paint.  I decided to brush on heavy sheer (single) coats of the colors I'd chose.  (I like the texture of the brush marks and the tape should be removed while the paint is still fresh)  After the initial triangles, I began using the yellow, delicate surface Frogtape to prevent pulling the previous new coats of paint I'd put on.  I later went back and painted the top that bronzy brown color and the bottom strip.  I also opted to paint the bottom gold.

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I boiled the brass handles to get it's (purple) paint loosened so I could scrape the paint off.  They turned out great. This poor thing was a real piece of work when I got it. Someone had previously (with a large knap roller) painted it with a thick coat of white latex paint.  It had also been rained on just enough for it to swell and make it difficult to shut the drawers.  The pic is before I sanded on the drawers, they fit much better now.  OH! >>In case you don't know, when wood drawers stick as you're opening and closing them, coating the contact points on the bottom of the drawers and the wood glides with a hard wax, helps a TON (and just takes a few minutes, I've used the bottom of a white candle before, a white crayon would be good to use too).

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After I was done with the painting, I VERY gently roughed up the edges. Then later, put a cleat coat of (what was supposed to be satin-but wasn't) poly.  I like easily cleaned surfaces and after all that work, I wanted it to have a good layer of protection. 

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If you noticed the framed animals above the dresser, you probably wouldn't see that in most people's homes......BUT I love animals and nature.  Not to mention I have a quirky sense of humor.  You like the mice in the gold frame?  Or how about seeing an opossum framed on the wall?  Yes, it's quirky but that's me. No apologies there. :) (Just be glad it's not all reptiles and amphibians...I like them too. haha.)

 

Anyways,  If you've never painted anything using painters tape before, you'd be surprised at how easy this is, once you get the hang of it.  This paint job probably looks tricky, but it's about as easy as it gets. When taping surfaces off to paint, taping long stretches of wall off and getting a truly straight line is difficult.  I didn't have much of that problem here.  Like many of my projects, it just takes a little skill and sticking with it till it's done........it won't kill you, it hasn't killed me yet.  

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