Monday, May 12, 2008

Lauren's Dresser

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I finally painted Lauren's dresser! It's amazing how much better her whole room looks now just by adding this. Before this she had a tall chest of drawers that looked like white laminate. This looks so much better! This "before" picture below is from the add on Craigslist. When I took the mirror off the the frame to paint it there was a date stamped on the back which said July 31, 196? I couldn't read the last number it was either 66 or 68. It's nice to know when this set was made. I actually thought it was older. It hard to see in the photos but the drawers are bowed out which is what I LOVED about this piece. I just have the mirror resting against the wall (not a smart thing to do in earthquake country) until I get it hung up. The lamp was black and I painted it white this weekend. I even added some scented drawer liners in a beautiful green color for her!
Next project for her room is to find something to put her TV on so it's not on top of the dresser! I also want to paint her room. We picked out the green color below (second from top). Her bedding is from Bed, Bath and Beyond. Here's what it looks like (we don't have the plaid pillows because I'm not a huge fan of plaid). She picked out the bedding but I think you can probably tell it's not really my taste. I'm surprised thought that now that it's coming together I'm liking it more. I may try to tackle the paint job this week after work. One of her walls is painted red now so I think I better prime that first. Has anyone ever painted over a red wall before? If so, do I need to prime it?

Once I get the whole room done, I'll show you. It may not be until June though!

61 comments:

Mo..."Mo's Cottage" said...

Hi Cindy...Love the dresser...I had a "RED" wall in my bedroom, I used Zinsser Primer from Home Depot. I also have used Kilz Primer Home Depot. Both are good but I like Zinsser the best. Good luck.
Mo :-)

Janet said...

Yeah, lots of primer. Remember how much red it took to get it right? That's about how much primer you need to make it disappear.
Janet

Anonymous said...

The dresser looks fabulous.

You will definitely need to prime that wall, and it will probably need multiple coats.

Anonymous said...

Lauren's dresser looks great! And I love her bedding and the wall color ya'll have chosen (but then I'm a "pink and green person" anyway).

I would imagine the new color will look better and more true if the wall is primed first. Last year, I used a green shade of Behr to paint over a medium peachy color. Even after priming the walls first with Kilz, it still took 3 coats of the green to cover that icky peach color! Yes, I would definitely recommend priming first, especially if you're using Behr because, in my opinion, it doesn't cover well, at all! (It also took a whopping 18 gallons of Behr to paint the exterior of our house when 8 gallons of another brand was plenty before! No more Behr paint for me!)

Good luck! I can't wait to see Lauren's room when it's finished.

Charlene said...

The dresser is beautiful!

Sharon~heartsongs said...

You always do such a great job!

I love the green that you are going to use. That's about the same color as my kitchen.

Anonymous said...

Another show piece Cindy!! Awesome job!!!!

Laura

Sharon~heartsongs said...

That bedding will be so nice with the paint. I'm not a plaid person either, but I would like that plaid because most of my house is pink and green.

paperjunk-lc said...

I really like the bedding she choose but I'm with you on the plaid I bet there is a solid that would to the trick. Have you thought of hanging the tv. I know that sounds odd but I saw it on a home tour a few years ago in a teenagers room and it kinda made it disappear.
The dresser turned out great!

Simply Me Art said...

Well First Cindy, Do you Sleep? LOL, you are truly Amazing... I Love the Dresser.. Gorgeous. Good Luck painting this week. Jamie

Mary said...

I always feel like painting is such a huge job -- you always make it seem so easy! The dresser looks wonderful. My daughter's room is COMPLETELY covered in magazine pics. Can't even see the soft cornflower blue walls... sigh!
xoxo,
Mary

Alison Gibbs said...

How fabulous the dresser looks now. Love the wall color you have chosen for Laurens room
Alison

linda t said...

I'm curious...
I was told that it takes months for paint to actually harden enough for you to put anything heavy on it.
What do you do that enables you to immediately put stuff on top of newly painted items?
Love your work Cindy!

Sondra said...

To no surprise, the dresser turned out wonderfully! Absolutely, positively prime that red. And prime it good!!

Jackie said...

Yes it does need to primed probably 2 coats, Kilz would work great.

Anonymous said...

I would also recommend Kilz. Red is a bear to cover - have done it myself!

Nancy said...

Yes, you need primer, just like everyone else said...lol

Love the green she picked.

Julie said...

You did another amazing job. I am sure she is thrilled with it!!

Joanne Kennedy said...

Once again a beautiful make over! Not that I doubted for one minute it wouldn't be. I adore that dresser. I've been keeping my eye for a nice dresser to go in my bedroom.

I have to say I am not looking forward to painting my bedroom but I'm going to have to do it soon.

My room now is about the color you are going to be painting Lauren's room. I do like that color. But, I want to change it to blue like you have in your room.

I wanted to thank you Cindy. Because of you I found a whole new hobby, been keeping busy and see things in a whole different way now.

Hugs,
Joanne

~ ♥ LISBETH ♥~ said...

I am a bit late, but Happy Mothers day! :o)) I am so happy for you, your home really deserves to get filmed, it is so beautiful. I understand that you got a bit frustrated about the cancelling, but as you say, one can never get enough time before an occasion like that, so a new date is a good thing;o))
The dresser looks fabulous. Here we call it a "belly dresser" because they are bowed out ;o)
Good luck with your painting, and yes I do think you need a lot of primer on a red wall, maybe not a lot , but a good one with a lot of white pigments in it so that it covers the red in one or two coats.
Wish you a lovely week.

Anonymous said...

The dresser looks awesome. I love how paint changes things. Definitely, you'll have to prime the wall before painting.

Pam said...

Definitely prime the wall with several coats of primer/stain blocker. The GOOD news is primer dries MUCH faster than paint, so even with two or three coats of primer you'll be able to get it done in a weekend.

Anonymous said...

I like Lauren's colors.... when mine was a teenager it was BLACK....oh my..she had a black wall... so I think hers is lovely.....dresser looks wonderful. You do such good work...done the right way...I'm sure she loves it.
Hugs
Linda

Stephanie ~ Angelic Accents said...

Beautiful transformation with the dresser. I lost your email, but I'm the one who is still looking for the "toe tapper" on /off switch for lighting! I'll let you know if I locate some!

Congratulations on having a little extra time to foof up the place, as if it needs it ~ not!!!!

Hugs,
Stephanie
Angelic Accents

Kelly said...

Hi Cindy! Great job on the dresser!

You do not need to prime. I had an entirely red room and we painted over with a lighter shade of green than you chose. I asked my brother who is a professional painter and he said to not worry about it. Worked like a charm!!

Rhonda said...

My formal dining rom was 'sweet cherry red' and I recently painted it sort of a sage color. I used Sherwin Williams Super Paint and, amazingly, one coat covered it beautifully with no primer.

Anonymous said...

Oh my, you just motivated me to go paint my dresser. Question, did the mirror come with the dresser? Is it fixed on to the dresser or is the computer supporting it?

Cindy said...

Abbie, Yes the mirror came with it. It has two boards that attach to the back of the mirror and the dresser or you can just hang it on the wall.

TinaTx said...

The dresser looks great!
Love the bedding!
As others have already said, you really should prime the red wall first - otherwise the green may not look like you want it to. That green looks close to my living room wall color - I love it!

Rosie's Whimsy said...

I always love your finished projects. They look so professional. The bowed drawers really give the piece character.

Rue said...

Hi Cindy :)

I didn't read the comments, so I don't know if you got your answer, but a lot of people use gray base coat. The red takes at least 4 coats without it. The dresser looks great!!

hugs,
rue

Anonymous said...

Great dresser!! Definitely prime the walls. I recommend KILZ.

Love your blog, denise

Joy Jones said...

Hello Cindy! The dresser is BEAUTIFUL! Lovely job. I was in Home Depot this weekend and picked up a sample of your Behr "Havana Cream" paint! You are right! It's a great shade of yellow. It's taped to my kitchen wall right now under consideration for our kitchen repaint this summer. I've got a couple of before & after projects up on my blog...I referenced you and your blog in the post...since I found you with your cabinet refinishing project, your inspiration has created a monster...everything is getting painted white!!! :) My mom told the dog not to slow down in front of me otherwise he'd get decorated too...but Barkley is safe, he is already WHITE!! LOL :) Hope you had a wonderful weekend! xoxo ~ Joy

Tracy said...

I LOVE any furniture that is "bowed"! It gives so much character! I think the bedding will look great (even if its not your taste, at least you were able to sneak a bit of "you" in there with the dresser ; ) Please do post finished results of the whole room! Looking forward to it!
xoxo
Tracy

Michele said...

You did a beautiful job on the dresser!! I love it!!!

If I'm not mistaken, you live in the Bay Area in California, right? If so, I'm wondering if I may ask you a question since I, too, live in the Bay Area (San Jose). I often look at the furniture on Craig's List, but I have NO CLUE what's considered a good or great deal on something like this dresser. I'm wondering if I may ask what you paid for this dresser and also if you have any guidelines you go by to know what to spend and not spend on a particular piece? I'm brand new to this whole idea of cottage decorating since I recently moved out on my own (I'm 38, but it was a long time coming after living with my parents for years to recover from a serious accident at the school where I taught 4th grade.).

Anyway, I've enjoyed reading your blog the last week or so since I discovered it! You truly are an inspiration!!

Michele

Rosemary said...

You better use a tinted primer over red, and lots of it Cindy.
I love the dresser.
Good luck with the paint.
Rosemary

Free Art Printables said...

Cindy, it looks great!! That dresser has some great bones. What a great make over! Deinatley prime the wall before hand. I like either Zinsser or Benjamin moore has a nice all pupose one. Otherwise the wall will bleed through underneath and you won't get the true green youa r elooking for. I can't wait to see when it's done!She is such a lucky girl! Jen R

Kissing of the Frogs said...

Beautiful job! Stop on over, I'm having a giveaway.
Hugs,
Rose

Anonymous said...

Hi, Cindy~ I wanted to let you know how much I love your blog! Also, I recently painted over the red in my bedroom, and I primed it first. I used a special kind of primer for "drastic" color changes, like going from red to a lighter color. I bought mine at Lowe's. (The person behind the paint counter should know what this is.)
Keep up the great work! It's always fun to see what you're up to!
~Jenni

Unknown said...

yes you do. unless you wan to spend a few more, and get the SUPER PAINT, which you can use over dark colors, and you dont need to prime. you might want to do two coats though. but it worked for me, I just painted over tons of dark colors, and wen to more light colors, and it worked. I picked out my colors, and got them in the Super paint from shirwin williams. Good luck!

Cindy said...

Hi Michele, I hope you check here for your answer because I don't have your email address. I paid $95 which to me isn't a steal but because it was a really good piece of furniture(solid wood with dove tail construction) I was willing to pay that. Sometimes you can find better deals on Craigslist but I had been looking for a dresser for awhile and Lauren and I both liked this so we bought it.

Anonymous said...

Hi Cindy,
The dresser looks great. One more thing off your list.

Hugs,
LeAnn:)

Anonymous said...

we all want your energy ! Great job on the dresser...love bowed drawers also. It is amazing how changing one thing in a room has a domino effect... the walls, the bedding.... etc etc etc !

Glenda said...

Cindy,
It turned out so well. Yes, use primer over the red. Otherwise you'll use the entire gallon trying to over it.
I heard they have different colored primer to use over strong colors, maybe Lowes or Home Depot has it.

I am painting my kitchen and decided to paint inside of the cabinets. A kitchen is hard to me, because of the things I have to take in and out of the cabinets. The walls were much easier.

Happy painting.
Glenda

Anonymous said...

That dresser was lovely to start with,,,,no wonder you loved. However it is now truly beautiful. I like what you did with the lamp too..I have some black based ones that I am just itching to paint shabby white. Not sure what to use on them though.

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous job, Cindy, as always! It looks absolutely beautiful!
And the bedding... sooo cute!
Have fun painting the walls!
Warmest wishes,
Monica.

Unknown said...

Oh how I have missed this blog! It is wonderful to be back blogging! Just wanted to pop in and say hello!
Hugs,
Robyn

vivian said...

beautiful job on the dresser cindy! I would definitely prime that wall with gray primer. it works great!
have a great week!
hugs
vivian

shabbyfufu said...

Just saw a post about you on another blog and popped in for a visit. Congrats on your HGTV photo shoot~how very exciting for you!

Anonymous said...

Cindy, I love the curvey lines of the dresser too, it came out picture perfect. I bet it is well made also. I just love Craigs list.
Prime the red wall, will make life easier.
Mary

Anonymous said...

Cindy how did you paint this so fast? It looks just great. I don't know how you do things so quickly. That would have taken me forever. It looks fabulous!!!

Donna Lynn said...

Dearest Cindy!
This is going to look beautiful when your all done, and the bedding is darling! Love the big flowers...the paint is going to really make your painted pieces POP!
Boy do I love painted furniture, I as toying with the idea of painting my bedroom set too...oh the hubs isn't gonna like that! :)
Hope your having a great week and your job is going well too!
Bless you,
Donna Lynn

Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality said...

Beautiful, Cindy, you did a great job on the dresser.

Rhoda

Anonymous said...

Great job Cindy! I really like the green color, and the bedding. Can't wait to see it all come together.

Anonymous said...

Hey Cindy,

I hope you don't mind. I was at Marshalls last night and picked up the same little teapot that you posted a few posts ago. I couldn't resist the colors or the price.

Hugs,
LeAnn:)

Lu Lu's Fluffy Ruffles said...

The dresser looks marvelous!!!!!
Love how white paint transforms a piece!
I prefer Kilz primer for whatever its worth.
smiles,
Sandy

Mary said...

Such an elegant dresser - another great paint job Cindy!

You can have your primer tinted (in your case green) and it will cover the red and give you a good base for your green topcoat(s).

Edie Marie's Attic said...

Hi Cindy!
Yes, prime it!!!
Love the dresser! And love the greens, so relaxing.
Hugs, Sherry

Judy said...

Hey Cindy....first let me say I love how Lauren's dresser turned out.

I had/have red walls and I've never used a primer to paint over them (of course, I use a professional painter but he's never told me he needed to prime them). It does take more than one coat (whether it's red walls or not)....from other comments it looks like they would recommend a primer coat so either way, you'll have to paint twice.

Good luck!

Judy

Essential Oil Premier University said...

Great job on the dresser and lamp. I bet Lauren is THRILLED!!

Yes, primer, lots and lots of primer. You can have the primer tinted at Home Depot. Lowes won't tint primer anymore, they told me too many customer complaints. Whatever that means. Have you primer tinted as close to the final paint color you can and it will make this job wwwaaayyy easier!!!

Blessings,

Sher

Amber said...

The dresser looks great! It is so amazing how painting furniture can make it look like a completely different piece...it gives it such new character!

I would recommend Kilz primer. It works wonders and will definitely make the pain job a lot easier!