Hi guys!! It’s Claire from Claire Brody Designs back again to share another fun project.I realize as I’m typing this that I have shared quite a few Craigslist dresser revamps (okay, maybe just one) but it sure seems that I have been on top of these furniture makeovers lately! If you missed my coral Walmart dresser transformation, you can catch that here, or last month I shared my DIY statue lamps which were perched on top of another furniture makeover (although I didn’t share those details). I just painted that one. See that project here.
See what I mean? I’m popping out furniture makeovers over here. Cyndy must be rubbing off on me! That or buying brand new furniture is not a priority over here. 😉
Today I’m sharing a mid century modern dresser that I found on Craigslist for $75. If you have never checked out Craigslist for possible treasures, hopefully my post will inspire you to consider trash to treasure revamps with awesome finds from Craigslist. Mid century dressers sell for over $1,000 in perfect condition, so I knew I couldn’t pass on this deal. Here’s the before:
Not too bad? Or maybe you’re thinking, “oh… that’s bad.” I saw its potential even through the blurry Craigslist photo and made my husband make a 10:00 pm Craigslist run to pick it up before someone else snatched it. Normal occurrence over here..and one of us doesn’t think those late night runs are as fun as the other. I tell him it’s a great team *marriage* building activity. Thankfully, the late night Craigslist run was worth it!
Getting to this point was a bit more complicated than it should have been. It only required sanding, staining and adding legs, but it seemed way more than that. Our sanding disaster that was not funny at the time but is hilarious now set us back, but we recovered. I shared that story here. Long story short, we didn’t think it would be a problem to sand INSIDE OUR BEDROOM. I left for an hour while Parker was sanding and came back to a half inch of sawdust covering our room. In our defense, we were first time sanders and were definitely naive about what that baby can do.
Supplies:
Dresser
You could of course use any sander, stain and legs that you’d like, but these are the specific supplies that we used to achieve this look. We sanded down to the raw wood, wiped the piece down (along with our entire room), and then applied a few coats of Minwax “English Chestnut” stain.
The dresser had legs at one time but the previous owner removed them. We wanted to keep costs as low as possible, so we purchased a 4 ft hardwood dowel (or a stick as I call it) and had it cut to (4) 12″ pieces. They do this for free at Home Depot. After the stain dried, we flipped the dresser over and attached the legs using heavy duty construction adhesive. We applied the glue to all parts of the leg that would touch the dresser which was the top and one side. We let the adhesive dry overnight and flipped the dresser over the next morning. I really wasn’t sure how the legs would turn out, but they are very sturdy and surprisingly look like they came as part of the original dresser!
I’m so excited about my new dresser and I hope that you’re inspired to do your own craigslist trash to treasure revamp project.
For more of my projects, I would love for you to come visit me at Claire Brody Designs here.
By the way, the detail shots in this post were taken by Chelsea Laine Francis.
xo,
Claire
Julia says
It is a beautiful transformation!
Can you give a little more information on the dresser handles/pulls and the leg support (horizontal cross piece)?
I enjoy your site and the inspiration!
JC
Claire Brody says
Hi Julia,
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! The horizontal pieces were already on the dresser – you just can’t see them when the dresser does not have legs. The drawer handles are not removable, so we just stained over them. I hope this helps! xo, Claire
Jordanna— The House of Muses says
This is beautiful! We definitely need a dresser revamp— maybe I can convince my own future husband that this is a project would should do. I’m also curious about the horizontal crossbar beneath.
Claire Brody says
Hi Jordana,
You totally should!! Great team building activity 😉 I should have mentioned the crossbar in the post – We lucked out with that. It was already on the dresser and we didn’t touch it. xo, Claire
Megan @ Our PInteresting Family says
I turned out amazing, Claire. The new legs look famatstic and origina . Glad you gave a new to this piece
Claire Brody says
Thanks Megan! xo
Brenna@DomesticCharm says
Claire, you are beyond talented! You keep impressing me with what you come up with, your amazing style and your creativity!
Cyndy says
I couldn’t agree more Brenna! Claire is crazy talented and such a great inspiration! Thanks for stopping by!
Claire Brody says
Well thank you Brenna!! You are so kind and just made my day! xx
kelly says
OH MY! I love this, really. I am always one to paint dressers but love the look of this natural wood. What a great upcycle, this one goes on my to-do list for sure. Thank you! http://www.yourcolorconsultant.com
Claire Brody says
Thanks Kelly! I usually paint too, but I wanted to keep the mid century modern look for this one. So glad you enjoyed it! xo
Peta says
Hi my name is Peta and I live on the Gold Coast,Queensland. I have a similar dresser that definitely deserves a re-vamp. In the before photo I can see chips in the veneer (just like mine). How did you deal with them. The idea for the legs was inspired. No truly.
Trisha says
This is by far one of the best Craigslist makeovers I’ve ever seen! I’m now kind of inspired to transform my own items I wanted to post on Craigslist into newly repurposed items in my own house! Great job!
debbie says
An excellent job – it’s beautiful.
LZ Cathcart@ The Summery Umbrella says
Adding legs to this dresser is simply brilliant! I can’t get over how this little touch has completely transformed this piece. Gorgeous!
Keshia Allred says
Thanks so much for this tutorial!!! I realized that the wood and that craftman look is my favorite, but I was feeling like the only way to get it was to buy new. But this gives me hope!!! Now I just have to make sure I find REAL WOOD pieces, and not just laminate!
Cherissa says
I love that mirror where can I find it?