DIY: Dresser Makeover

So, first I need to apologize for the lack of a good before shot of the dresser. My hubby was too quick to start sanding it before I was able to take a picture. Instead, I can offer you the before pic below which was taken when our first house was put on the market.

As you can see the long dresser in our master bedroom was made up of 2 3-drawer IKEA Malm dressers put together. The original colour was medium brown (which you can see here). When we moved into our first home, we decided to paint them black and add hardware to the drawers. Then, when we moved into our current home and bought new furniture for our master bedroom, these pieces were moved into the guest room - where they sat unused and unloved.

However, when we decided to make the guest room into a nursery, I decided to repurpose the dressers for both clothes storage as well as a changing table. I didn't want to buy a specific table for changing our baby girl since I knew that after she grew out of diapers, she would also be growing out of the use for that table. 

So, here's how the dresser looks now (it's just missing a changing pad)...

A bit of a difference, no? 

I decided to paint the dresser with a soft blue-green that complimented the wall colour. The paint colour is Stratton Blue (HC-142) by Benjamin Moore in a semi-gloss finish. I also decided to remove the existing hardware (since they didn't serve much of a purpose and I didn't need the brushed nickel to add any "bling" to the room). Instead, I decided to add a custom detail to the drawer fronts. 

To make the drawers custom, I used O'livia O'verlays in a 6" x 21.5" size. Now, if you're not familiar with O'verlays - go check them out here! They make O'verlays in all different patterns and sizes for popular Ikea furniture pieces, so you can take your standard dresser or table to the next level. They can even make custom pieces for you with dimensions that you provide them. 

I love how the O'verlays make this dresser something special - not to mention that the pattern we chose coordinates really well with the new light fixture (you can read more about that this week - so stay tuned!).