This dresser was given up on and tossed in the trash. You could easily see why; the back was falling off, large blocks of wood were missing or in disrepair, the drawers wouldn’t slide because most of the support beams were no longer existent, it only had casters on one side, causing it to lean, and the paint was chipping off. I came to own it when a HERO found it by the side of the road, hauled it back to her home, but, after it sat in her basement for some time, she decided it was too big a project and gave me a call.

Carrying it into the shop, I wasn’t even sure if it would survive the journey. Nails were barely holding it together and there were moments when I grappled with the fact I might get into my workspace with only remnants left in my hands. Nevertheless, it made it!

Despite surviving the transport, it almost didn't make it to the refinishing step when I discovered mold. Eek. Truth be told, I wanted to bail on this project, deeming it a hunk of junk. I did some research though, and landed on my favorite tried and true Bob Villa (from This Old House), I equipped myself with a mixture of bleach, detergent, and warm water. Applying it directly to the moldy areas with a. sponge, it worked it’s magic and removed all the mold! Bob, you’ve done it again.

Now that it was mold free, I began to make repairs. I started by adding two new casters to the side where they were missing, and spray painting them bronze so they more closely matched the existing casters. I then adhered two wood panels to hold the back of the dresser in place and removed shards of old nails and wood. WIth the backing finally sound and the piece level, I rebuilt the drawer glides, reattached the pieces of siding that had come off, and handled small repairs like gluing some areas and removing miscellaneous nails from others. (I posted most of this process on Instagram, so if you don’t follow me yet, please do so you can see the journey! I’m @pink_pinecone. You can see all of the videos under “Tucker’s Story.”)

I desperately wanted to keep that “secret drawer” at the bottom of the dresser. The drawer had seemingly long ago disappeared and only the front panel remained. Instead of building a new drawer, I turned it into a small shelf and used the front panel as a door to access it. WIth magnets hanging from the inside of the space (the type you’d see on cabinets) and a large hinge, I was able designed a worth door that only the owner might know existed. Super cool.

Once the piece was finally in working condition, it was time to paint! Hooray! I wanted to use milk paint over the black so when the milk paint chipped up, it would expose the black below. I chose a beautiful burnt red color by Shackteau Interiors and it was a dream to apply. I finished the dresser using Hemp Oil, which brightened the color and created a marvelous finished product. I then went around and distressed areas I wanted more black to show through, and voila! This beauty is officially one of my favorites.