Since we’re in the middle of our living room redo, and we decided to go white…
This old dresser just wasn’t cutting it anymore in the aged-yellow color department. Blech. Jamin was kinda bummed, because this was his first “baby.” I had to slowly coax him into the idea of a change. Showing him how gross it looked next to that white, kinda helped.
When the kind people from Purdy dropped me a line and asked me to review their brushes, I considered it perfect timing.
Review one of my already favorite brands? Um, yeah that wouldn’t be hard.
So I decided it was time to start on Jamin’s “baby.” We gave it a quick buff with the sander, and started in with some more of that wonderful Chantilly Lace. Yes, it is my go-to white.
Confession: I’m kind of a brush snob, after working with oils and canvas for years in the fine art genre of painting. So what I love the most about Purdy brushes, is that they provide a nice, smooth, beautiful stroke. And most importantly, they don’t shed. I can’t think of something that bothers me more…a shedding brush. UGH.
Purdy brushes: nary so much of a shed, so my finish is saved, and I’m not freaking out, trying to remove all those little bristles from my last coat. OR worse, discovering some after it’s already dried. Yuck.
This little packet helped create a smooth, beautiful finish!
For the top, I coated it with a quick punch of wedgewood grey {yes, I’m on a somewhat permanent kick after the near death carebear vomit experience of 2011– or even before that, with our kitchen redo– and wanted the tones to match for our space} I dry brushed some aqua on top. I then finished it off with a rubbed on tea stain.
I love the outcome, and the fresh change it provides, as a great space for our family to store all of our media stash.
It gives the room a bit of a classic, coastal vibe, doesn’t it? Honestly, I have grandiose visions of turning this little guy into a sink, years down the line in life. It’s one of those classic pieces ya just don’t get rid of.
Have you revamped anything around your homes lately? Send me some pics! I’d love to see!
Looks Great! I love the way the top turned out. I think your sink idea is stellar.
And about the paint brushes: I should just stick with Purdy brushes. Whenever I stray to some cheaper paint brush I’m always disappointed!
I love Purdy brushes, too! I just recently got their cub XL brush, and it might be my favorite one by far 😀
Love your blog – been a faithful reader for a while but I don’t comment often. Thanks for all of the inspiration!
I love your posts and after reading them I’m beginning to work up the courage to try a few things myself. Can you tell me what kind of stain you use? I didn’t know you could add stain after painting furniture. Thank you for the inspiration!
Hey Andrea! I love Minwax. It comes in a ton of different tones, etc. Be sure to take a look at my tea stain tutorial, here.
The old dresser looked great and now it looks even better. Fabulous update!
Love this project! I’ve been scouring Craigslist for old, inexpensive furniture to refinish for our new place; I’ll have to give those brushes a try once I get started!
ooh i love this! i bought a dresser off craigslist last night and now i’m trying to decide what color to paint it. love yours – i really like the combo of the more distressed top and classic bottom. great job!
I absolutely LOVE this revamp! The top of that dresser is YUMMY!
Oh BEAUTIFUL Ashley! I LOVE it!!! I actually just used my Purdy to paint some chairs yesterday. {Nesting} 🙂
Thank you so much for your website! I love your style of writing and design. I followed the link in a previous comment for tea stain tutorial, but was hoping you could explain it a little. The link gave a wonderful explanation of painting styles and directions, but I didn’t find any information called tea staining. Maybe I am looking for the wrong thing? Thanks!
Hey girl! I refer to the tea stain finish as the process of applying stains over that last coat on your piece. Directions on how to do that should be at the bottom of the post. Let me know if that clarifies/helps.
Sorry for the confusion!
Super duper re-do, Ashley!! It looks so fresh and “purdy” now! ha ha– btw, love Purdy brushes and would never use anything else. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
It’s absolutely gorgeous and your walls look great too! I’m having a really hard time deciding on a white for my walls, because all the ones I’ve tried end up being too creamy. What color did you use?
Benjamin Moore’s chantilly lace. it’s my current go-to. 😉 I used it on our kitchen cabinets and I haven’t stopped since. 😉
Awesome, thanks! 🙂
i <3 purdy brushes…..like big fluffy pink <3 them. i get the best {STRAIGHT} lines around my ceilings and you can't ask for much more than that. {well, that, and a brush that doesn't shed….}
So what does the hubby think?
You’re right. It totally looks classy costal. Love the gray top.
ha! he liked it. he doesn’t say much, unless he absolutely objects. I think he saw my point when we took it from old yellow to new white. 😉
Oooh, pretty. And thanks for the good advice on brushes.
i love the white and i love how you did the top. you’ve got skillzzzz.
i just redid a dresser for our baby girl’s room…
http://queen-of-the-house.blogspot.com/2011/07/dresser-for-her.html
It looks marvelous! Can’t wait to see the total room make over!
Debbie
Did this dresser have a laminate top? I have one exactly the same but when it came time to sand the old paint off it revealed a laminate top underneath. Is there any special way to paint this?
Thanks, I love your blog,
xo Lisa
Hey Lisa! Sorry for the slow response! We have been out of town! 😉 I would actually just sand down a little, wipe it, and then treat it just like wood. Go to it with primer or paint. {depending on the darkness of the dresser} I did nothing special to it, and it was laminate. I just did a light sand job and that was all it needed. I hope that helps!