A while back I found this small dresser at a thrift shop for 99 cents. It was marked down from $10. To be honest, I didn’t believe the price tag at first.  I took the tag off the dresser and took it to an employee to make sure I was seeing it right. I was assured it was 99 cents.

I saw the water damage on the top (see below) and I’m pretty sure it was marked down because nobody wanted to deal with it. But still, it was a solid wood piece with dovetail joints and sturdy construction. I couldn’t pass it up!

So what? I’m not afraid. I sanded the dresser down and started planning what I’d do with it. Hubby needs a nightstand. He’s currently using a small night stand that went with his bachelor dresser that I transformed for O’s room. It does the job but is a bit small and disproportionate to our new, much taller bed. I noticed that the shape of the drawer details mimicked the design on my curbside rescue dresser. Perhaps they could coordinate in our master bedroom?

Usually I am anxious to change hardware on pieces like this but I thought the current hardware was unique and interesting so I opted to keep it. Along the way I updated the drawer handles with a coat of bronze spray paint.

After a coat of Kilz water based primer I started on the base coat. I didn’t doctor up the water damage… I was a little impatient and had no clue what to do to make that mess disappear. I hoped a few heavy coats of paint would camouflage it enough for it to be forgotten. Remember, I was looking to make this dresser coordinate with the larger one I had refinished for the master so I chose the same paint combination. Behr Ashes and high gloss withe trim paint for the details and top. Here is a look at in progress.

The drawers also got a coat of primer and 2 coats of the gray. I freehanded white detail around the ridges and in some archectual grooves on the chest.

I should add that all these coats of paint happened over a couple of weeks. You know, when I had time and energy to spare.

The breakdown:

99 cents and a good eye at St. Vincent dePaul

2 pennies found inside when dismantling for paint prep

I already owned primer, paint and supplies

So the total comes to 97 cents. Kids, you can’t even buy a Frosty for that these days.

I’m happy with finished product and I think Hubby is too. It has a much more fresh vibe and doesn’t seem so dark and heavy. Dare I say it might have a little bit of a retro revival feel?

After a little closet spring cleaning and some accessorizing I will be sure to reveal a final shot of this little dude in his new home.