Loving Life: Re-purposed Goodwill Dresser

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Re-purposed Goodwill Dresser - Nursery Changing Table

AFTER

BEFORE

I’m a big fan of finding old pieces of furniture at yard sales and thrift shops, and then refinishing them for a new purpose in my home. Take a look at my project page, and you’ll see that I accumulated a lot of the furniture in my home by doing just that.

Both dressers in the nursery were Goodwill finds. Today, I want to share a dresser that I purchased from Goodwill for $25. The dresser is solid wood, and it serves as a duel purpose in the nursery. It not only stores the babies’ clothes, it also works as their changing table. I bought a changing pad from Once Upon a Child and found a changing pad cover that I liked from Burlington Coat Factory. I added a lamp from Goodwill and a cute bin from Home Goods, and I had myself an inexpensive changing station. And the best part is that when I no longer need a changing table, I can still use the dresser in a little boys room for years to come.

The original dresser was in decent shape, but I really wanted a navy blue dresser. And because I only spent $25 on this piece, I had no problem feeling bad for giving a perfectly fine dresser a new look.

I refinished this piece the way I refinish most pieces with no sanding required……

1) I started by cleaning the dresser with TSP cleaner. It can be found at most hardware stores. I buy mine in a powder and mix it in a spray bottle.

2) Using a foam roller I primed the dresser with Zinsser Cover Stain primer. It took two coats to fully cover this piece of furniture. I keep this paint on hand for when I find furniture to refinish.

3) I had leftover navy blue paint (“seaworthy” by Sherwin Williams) from the accent wall in the nursery, and applied two coats of paint to the dresser for full coverage.

4) I updated the hardware with nickel knobs from Lowes. The hardware cost just about as much as the dresser, making this dresser cost about $50 when it was all said and done.

5) Tip: Always take out the drawers when painting and let paint dry completely before applying a new coat. The primer and the sponge roller are key to getting a streak free finish without needing to sand, so don't skip those steps.