Scary Dresser, DIY Chalk Paint

In honor of Halloween, I thought it be a good time to share this scary looking dresser makeover.  Even the seller on Craig’s list dubbed this dresser the “Frankenstein of dressers”.
Here’s the scary before.

Like most projects I work on, I did learn a few things with this piece.

1. Never let a seller deliver items.  If they aren’t in as good as condition as you thought, it’s mighty hard to tell them to take it back.

2. Seller’s interpretation of “in good working order” is sometimes very loose.

The drawers did work, but not very well.  The sliders were metal on wood.  Not a good combination.  In the end the client and I decided to cut our losses and resell it.  She was going to use it as her dresser in her bedroom on a very large wall.  She and I both doubted my skills to fix it well enough for everyday use.

I got lucky when a decorator friend of mine said she’d take it off my hands if I’d paint it to  match some other furniture she was using in a model home.  I was super excited!

I think it came out really great. And most importantly my friend loved it.

I almost forgot to tell about my experience with DIY Chalk Paint. I used Calcium Carbonate mixed with sample paint from Benjamin Moore per No Minimalist Here. Honestly, I don’t think this will be something I do again soon.  I had a really hard time mixing it smooth.  And when I used a roller on the top of the piece, the chalk looked fine going on, but dried with little clumps of white dispersed across the top and I ended up sanding it out and repainting it with a brush.  To be sure I had a durable finish on it, I used Wipe On Poly from Minwax.  I knew there wouldn’t be an issue with yellowing since the piece was black.

I believe Annie Sloan Chalk paint is definitely superior to this and is worth the investment. I wanted to give it a try and needed the piece to be a true black per my client’s wishes.  Now I know. If I got in a pinch with color or time I might try it again, but it definitely wouldn’t be my first choice of paint.