DIY Shabby Chic Dresser Repair and Refinish

A customer brought me this dresser she had bought at a thrift store. The finish was badly damaged, hardware missing, and it had a broken frame, broken drawer and broken legs. She wanted to repair the dresser, update the hardware and give it a shabby chic finish.

Supplies

This project required repairing the frame, replacing the broken or missing pieces and painting in the Shabby Chic style. For this project I used the following:

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As always practice safety. Wear safety glasses, rubber gloves and old clothes or a shop apron. Wear hearing protection, a dust mask and heavy gloves for rough edges as needed.

Making the Repairs

I started by removing all the drawers. I secured the interior base that was split with two pieces of scrap attach with glue and screws. I then attached blocks of wood to each leg where the missing parts were. I attached them with glue and clamps and allowed the legs to dry over night. I just followed the profile of the cabinet to make a simple curve with a pencil. I then cut the extra wood away with a jig saw. One drawer was missing a piece of the interior back edge and I replaced that with a small piece of scrap birch.

Paint and Finish

For more information on distressing and a Shabby Chic finish, please click here to see my Instructable DIY Shabby Chic Painted and Distressed Table Bench. The process for this one is fairly straight forward. The entire dresser was sanded with 150 sand paper. I brushed off any saw dust that I could. A damp cloth was used to wipe down the piece to remove any extra dust. I then proceeded to apply two coats of white paint. I let the paint cure for a couple days. Once cured, I used a fine rasp and sand paper to distress the dresser by scuffing the edges of the drawers and the dresser, giving it a weathered look. Once satisfied with the results, I clear coated the project with two coats of a satin poly finish.

I hope you have enjoyed this Instructable. Please take a moment to view my other projects. I look forward to your questions and suggestions in the comments section.

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