August 1, 2019

Awesome Kitchen Island Made From Dresser

Do you have an old dresser that has seen better days?

Don’t throw it away, it can be your new kitchen island, or in my situation, a “she shed” island.

I was trying to figure out a way to have a work space, that I could roll around and also make larger. I went on Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist and found an old dresser that someone was giving away. I was looking for a dresser that was island height and had the shabby country look. I am never surprised at all of the furniture that people are giving away. At top kitchens manchester you will find everything you need to remodel your kitchen.

I am not a stranger to painting furniture, and am in love with the chalk paint of Annie Sloan. If you have never used chalk paint, especially Annie Sloan’s, you are missing out. I am a big fan of two color distressing, which involves painting several colors in chalk paint, using a blunt brush, and some wax. If you are not that good painting you can look for a painter and decorator to do it for you.

Now to pick the colors, my favorite part…..

I have a thing for purple and wanted to paint it several colors of purple with a white wax. I wanted the curves to be highlighted and the island to look distressed. I started with a light purple and painted the entire dresser. When it dried for 24 hours, I started the random dry brush technique, with the darker purple, heavy in some areas, light and feathery in others. After letting it dry for 2 days, I used the random dry technique again, but using white wax.

I always finish my chalk paint furniture with an all over clear wax. Waxing is not like painting, you work the wax into your piece in circular motions. The final results are amazing, and the feel of the finish is unlike anything you have ever touched.

The benefits of layering chalk paint is very little paint is used and your brush strokes don’t need to be precise. If your piece of furniture has imperfections like this dresser does, they are easily hidden with this layering technique.

Ugly knobs…

I really disliked the knobs that came with the dresser and found these adorable white flower knobs on Amazon, and they were very affordable. I really love a finished dresser drawer, and my local Dollar Tree carries a nice selection of contact paper 🙂

Now to deal with that ugly top !!

I knew I wanted a butcher block looking top, but wood is so expensive, but I found some cheap wood at Home Depot. The wood is called Whitewood Ledger Board, and it has a very rough finish, but for the price, I was willing to sand it smooth. I had no idea how hard this wood was to sand, but after a few days, it had the finish I wanted.

Transforming this top into a drop leaf sounds like a major project, but it was quite easy. I found metal drop leaf supports on Amazon, a basic, no frill support, and I had some hinges in my workshop. This was my first drop leaf install, and it was easier than I thought it would be. I wanted to add two boards in the drop leaf, but I was uncomfortable adding an additional 8 inches, i thought it would bend the supports if I leaned on it.

The final step, finishing the top….

Tung oil finish is my go to finish, I think it shows the beauty of the wood, and adds a beautiful color. I use Formby’s Tung Oil Finish, I bought some 5 years ago and it lasts forever 🙂 I gave the top 3 coats, using 0000 steel wool in-between coats and finally letting it dry for 2 days before using it.

Good-bye ugly, scratched green dresser. My new shabby country purple island is a nice addition to my shed. Now to start on the next project(s), lol. By the way, if you want to find some great furniture pieces, visit this website, yuo can check it out here.