Turning an old dresser into a Media Console

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Isn’t that the saddest dresser you’ve ever seen? We found this dresser in an abandoned storage unit. It was beat up. Scratched, dinged, missing hardware, broken and depressing. I tried to sell it as is. It was not a project I really wanted to take on. We listed it on our local Facebook yard sale site. Someone even came to look, and they turned it down. Who could blame them, right? We put it in the garage, and forgot about it for awhile. I wanted to take an old dresser and turn it into a TV Media Console, but I didn’t want something so run down to start with. After a few months collecting dust in the garage, I decided it was time to give this old girl a chance. Turns out she was sturdier than she let on!

I wanted to complete it in a style that would match my Storage Auction Side tables, and my TV Console Dog Bed. I contacted my friends at DecoArt to see if they were interested in helping and they sent me some of their super great Chalky Finish paint in “Everlasting” and “Treasure”. If anything could cover this mess, that could.

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The first step was to clean her up. Years of dust, stickers, and residue from who knows what washed off. I needed to strip some of the old varnish off the top and the drawers. I wanted to stain those, just like I did with the side tables. Since most of the dresser was made of real wood it wasn’t difficult to remove the old finish. It came right off with a chemical stripper, and what I found underneath was beautiful! Citristrip is my finish remover of choice. It’s less harsh than others I’ve tried. A little sanding, some filling, and she was starting to come around!

We removed the back of the dresser and took off the drawer slides so a shelf could be fitted where the top drawers used to be. Hubby cut the shelf from a quarter inch plywood panel and we glued it into place. The clamps remained overnight ensuring that the shelf was adhered nicely and then I used wood filler to fill any gaps and cracks.

Time to stain, and paint!

The top of the dresser and the drawer fronts are stained. I covered the top, and used my HomeRight Finish Max Paint Sprayer to apply the Chalky Finish “Everlasting” to the body of the dresser. I really love this combo together! The chalk paint goes on nice and smooth, and the paint sprayer makes it so quick and easy!

Pops of bright turquoise with Chalky Finish “Treasure” inside the shelf, drawers, and on the hardware gives her a little bit of character. “Treasure” is my very favorite chalky finish color. There are splashes of it in decor all over my house, and it makes me smile! It’s such a happy color! You can paint it right on the old brassy hardware. As long as you seal it good it will last forever, and it looks amazing!

It was so fun to put all of the electronics in it. Everything fits perfectly, with room to grow. It looks so nice and organized now, and all kinds of things are hidden out of sight in the drawers which also have some fun color hiding inside!

I sealed the whole thing with DuraClear Gloss Varnish, from DecoArt. It dries perfectly clear, has a beautiful glossy shine, and will protect the chalk paint finish perfectly.

Isn’t the shine on the stained top pretty? I love love love how it turned out! It’s such a fun way to hold all the TV stuff!

I really love looking at the side by side Before and After pictures! Isn’t the difference amazing? It’s hard to believe it’s the same sad old dresser! I’m so glad I decided to fix her up!