Hi Guys!
So one of my favorite things to do is fix up old furniture. I am the girl that breaks for furniture. If I see something on the side of the road with a free sign, I throw it in the back of my SUV! If someone is giving something away, I take it. Whatever it is I can fix it up and make it fancy! So here are a couple before and after pics and I will let you know my favorite techniques, paints, and places to get hardware.
A lot of people out there are on the chalk paint bandwagon. Personally it’s not for me. I’ve tried it maybe a handful of times, but personally I do not like that you have to paint it with a brush, and that you have to seal it with wax. If you love it great! If you want to try something easier, here is what I use.
Rustoleum Spray Paint is the Best! I use the color Heirloom White for almost everything, and it always turns out fabulous.
Click here for paint on Amazon
This was literally an antique family heirloom dresser. It was my husbands grandfathers dresser. Judging by the art deco style of the dresser it was most likely from the 1920’s-30’s. So that’s almost 100 years old! The fact that it’s still standing is a miracle, but this thing was in bad shape. Not only was it completely scratched up, but the wood veneer was peeling off. As you can see in one picture, I tried to simply remove the veneer. It came off amazing in some areas, but was totally stuck on in other places. So I got out my handy RYOBI mouse sander with an 80 grit sand paper and sanded it off the best I could. This worked well, but I didn’t achieve a perfectly even and smooth texture through out the drawer fronts and top of the dresser. So, I decided to make it look intentionally distressed. I personally like both a distressed, shabby, finish, or a clean painted look. The furniture piece has to be in really good condition for that clean look. I’ll include some pictures at the end of pieces from the past, that turned out great. For this piece I just painted the knobs instead of adding crystals. I LOVE crystal knobs, but this dresser is being used by my husband, and he wouldn’t like that very much. So the original hardware was taken off and painted with rustoleum smokey beige, then antiqued them with the glaze.
For the distressing I used an antique glaze. I brushed on a heavy layer with a paint brush and then with a damp sponge and dry paper towel I wiped away the glaze until I achieved the amount of distress that I wanted. Some areas of the dresser are heavily glazed, like the detailed feet and wood applique on top, some of the drawers are barely glazed at all. That part is pure preference.  
These nightstands were on the side of the highway in Gilroy, CA. You bet I pulled over.
I didn’t get a picture of the full dresser, but this was the drawer front to at least show the color. This was listed free on Craigslist. I use Craigslist, Offer UP, Let Go, or Facebook marketplace sites to find free or cheap furniture. I went pretty heavy on the distressing on this guy, because in the middle of our move, it got scratched up and my husband got black fingerprints all over it. Oh well. Notice I put new mercury glass pulls from http://www.hobbylobby.com on the dresser. But since the nightstands were missing hardware, I used the old dresser hardware and painted it with the Rustoleum Beige.
Knobs/Hardware:
I love Hobby Lobby for hardware. They have a large selection and it is often 50% off.
I love Rod Works Home Decor, they have almost as big of selection, great quality and great prices. That’s also where the Mr. & Mrs. Picture frame is from. It is a local shop, so unless you are in Utah, CA, CO, AZ, or Vegas, you will have to wait until one of those stores comes close to you. There is a similar store called REAL DEALS HOME DECOR, that has over 80 locations nationwide, not sure if they carry the knobs, but they have cute stuff. I’ll share a post about all these fun shops later.
https://www.dlawlesshardware.com/acrylic-knobs.html Â
D Lawless is a great website for hardware!
Home Depot and Lowes have a decent selection if you are in a time crunch and don’t need anything too fancy or unique.
If you are local to Sacramento, CA their are some cute shabby chic shoppes in old Folsom that carry a unique selection.
Also, hang on to old hardware, and paint it and re-use it like I do! A lot of times, I’ll paint and re-use and maybe just change out a few drawers to crystals.
These are the paints I used. This Rustoleum brand spray accessory was AMAZING. It makes it easier to spray the paint, and makes it much cleaner, no mess on your hands.
Other older pieces I painted without the glaze or distressing:
Original Hardware painted, plus 2 pink crystal pulls.
