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The Finished Dresser & Chest of Drawers (and Dealing With Chrome & Brass Bathroom Fixtures)

Last Updated on February 12, 2019 by Kristi Linauer

Well, maybe I shouldn’t call them finished. They’re finished for the most part. They would have been finished if I had remembered to pick up a foam brush for the polyurethane that I need to use on the stained tops. Oh well. For the purposes of this “before and after”, I’m going to declare them finished.

So yesterday you got to see the “before” and “in progress” pics of the dresser and chest of drawers.

Now, here’s the “before” and “after”!

Isn’t it amazing what a little sanding, painting, and staining can do?!

And then here’s the “before” and “after” of the chest of drawers…

What a difference! I had intended to get a better before pic of the chest of drawers before I started, but I got a little too anxious to get busy and completely forgot! This one was taken when I painted the room, which is why things are stacked in front of it.

Isn’t it amazing what a little distressing and antiquing will do? I really like a fresh, clean coat of heirloom white paint, but with the headboard, bedding, and carpeting all the same color, it would have been overkill to have the dresser and the chest of drawers a solid off-white also. So, I opted to distress and antique the finish.

Here is the dresser before the distressing/antiquing process…

And here it is, all distressed and antiqued…

I’m quite pleased with how they turned out. So much so that I took about a thousand pics of them! Lucky you. 😀 Ready?

Okay, I’ll spare you the other 996 pictures. That’s probably enough…for now. 🙂

If you’d like instructions on this project, you can click here: How To Paint, Distress and Antique a Piece Of Furniture.

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Now on to something completely different…

The metal finishes in Gwen’s bathroom posed a bit of a challenge for me. As I’ve shown you before, the shower door frame is a very shiny brass, and the two sink faucets, tub faucet, and shower fixtures are all a shiny chrome and brass combo.

Now because we’re trying to do this makeover on a budget, new fixtures were out of the question. Have you priced those things lately?! Goodness…we would have spent more replacing the two sink faucets, the tub faucet, and the shower fixtures that we’ve spent on the rest of the bathroom! And that doesn’t even include the cost of installation!!

So I had to find a way to make them work. And because we were adding a new tub chandelier and two above-mirror vanity lights, I needed to find something that would blend with the chrome/brass bath fixtures, and also blend with the aged finishes being used in the bedroom. Quite a challenge, I’d say!!

My solution? Use antiqued silver and gold on the new lighting.

I found this chandelier at Home Depot, and because I saw it hanging…way up…with the light glaring in my eyes, I mistakenly thought that this chandelier had silver AND gold on it.

When I got it to Gwen’s house, I noticed that it was, in fact, silver and black. I have no idea how I saw gold on that thing. I guess I just really, really wanted it to be there, so I saw what I wanted to see.

So, determined to get some gold onto that chandelier, I taped off all of the silver parts, and got out my trusty gold spray paint.


So pretty! Much better, don’t you think?

Ha! Just joking! I know, I know…at that point, it looked like something I picked up from Liberace’s yard sale. In fact, there it is…in the corner!

😀

Okay, that’s not exactly what I had in mind. But…after a little antiquing, it was beautiful…just what I had imagined.

Here’s another “before” and “after” of the chandelier…



So today, I need work on these…

With my trusty blue painters tape, I’ll tape off a few sections, paint them gold, and then antique the whole thing. Wash, rinse, repeat…

I’m linking up to

.

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27 Comments

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  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    SG
    May 7, 2010 at 4:02 pm

    Kristi~
    Would you mind sharing what you did when you distressed and antiqued the dresser? I painted some very large furniture in my house white and I want to give it that distressed look but I'm not sure how exactly. I don't want to mess up and have to paint it all white all over again. Also, once the furniture is distressed, do you apply a clear protective top coat or are you done at the distressing stage?

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Laurie - Little Blue Chairs
    May 7, 2010 at 4:16 pm

    Love the dressers, they look amazing.

    I have the exact same sink fixture in my master bath. I love your solution.

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Kristi @ Addicted 2 Decorating
    May 7, 2010 at 4:25 pm

    I'm working on getting the DIY written up for the painting/distressing/antiquing. Stay tuned! 😀

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    ♥rockwood♥
    May 7, 2010 at 4:54 pm

    Love you blog! You've been nominated for the Sunshine Award! Check out my blog to see!

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Scientific Housewife
    May 7, 2010 at 11:06 pm

    Great after pics and the chandelier looks great!

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    chest of drawers white
    May 8, 2010 at 12:05 am

    Love the chest of drawers, chandelier looks greatto

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Kristi's mom
    May 8, 2010 at 1:45 am

    Okay, now I'm beginning to think that is what needs to be done to the dresser and chest of drawers in the front bedroom upstairs. When can you work me in??? 🙂 The chandelier is beautiful!

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    burlap+blue
    May 8, 2010 at 2:23 am

    Oh my! LOVE the dresser transformation! Esp. the stained top…thanks for sharing!

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Sandra
    May 8, 2010 at 2:40 am

    Wow, what a difference on the dressers. Great Job!

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Ashley @ Ashley's Craft Corner
    May 8, 2010 at 4:07 am

    I love the dressers!!! I really love that you left the tops darker…it's not something I would ever think to do but I'm definitely making a mental note of that one!

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    dining room table
    May 8, 2010 at 8:01 am

    You did a very fabulous job on the dressers! I adore what you did! They became so pretty.

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    [email protected]
    May 8, 2010 at 4:40 pm

    Gosh, don't you love spray paint!! I've been accused of paining anything that didn't move. I've changed the finish on many a brass object with great results. Have a fun weekend, and I can't wait to see what you do next!

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Tales From My Empty Nest
    May 9, 2010 at 3:28 am

    Love the dresser. It turned out great! Happy Mother's Day. Love & blessings from NC!

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Paula
    May 9, 2010 at 11:24 am

    I'd also love some information on just how you distressed the dresser! It's an amazing transformation.

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Stephanie Cameron
    May 10, 2010 at 6:19 pm

    Thanks for stopping by to look at my teal coffee table. The stain looks great on your piece. I wonder if I would have let it dry for several days instead of an our or two…if it wouldn't have dripped. Also, I have never thought to spray seal…I wasn't taught that way, and I have a big can of sealer. Next time!

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Room to Inspire
    May 11, 2010 at 3:00 am

    The fixture looks great! I will be eagerly awaiting your post on "how to" distress/antique!

    Chelsea

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Anonymous
    May 11, 2010 at 1:11 pm

    Love the chandelier but how do you antique it after you spray? Thanks for inspiration!

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Kristi @ Addicted 2 Decorating
    May 11, 2010 at 1:49 pm

    I've written more detail on how to create the antique gold finish here:

    http://blog.addicted2decorating.com/2010/05/bathroom-lighting-transformed-and.html

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Sarah @ Hennessey House
    May 11, 2010 at 3:41 pm

    WOW, i looooove what you did with the dressers!!

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Lisa
    May 13, 2010 at 2:41 pm

    Amazing transformation! I agree, paint is the single best decorating tool there is. Great projects!
    Come by for a 1 year blog-iversary giveway. It's very easy to enter. Would love to see you there.

    Lisa

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Janell @ Isabella and Max
    June 18, 2010 at 1:50 pm

    That fixture is fabulous!!!! Can you find me one just like it?! Janell

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Sherry from Alabama
    September 30, 2010 at 3:14 pm

    Oh my goodness, I have almost exactly the same bedroom suit as you! My husband and I bought it when we got married 29 years ago. I've been dying to paint it but my hubby prefers wood left in a more natural state. I'm going to show him the pictures of your set and see if that helps convince him. I just found your pics on "Better After," and had to come over and take a look your whole redo. Thanks for the urge I needed to proceed with my plans.

    Sherry @ A Happy Valentine

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Lisa
    October 14, 2010 at 2:53 am

    Oh my gosh. What a beautiful job on the chandelier. Can you share directions with us? I have a fixture to transform! Thanks so much for all your inspirational postings!
    Lisa

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Kristi @ Addicted 2 Decorating
    October 15, 2010 at 1:31 am

    Hi Lisa~
    I posted a tutorial here:

    http://blog.addicted2decorating.com/2010/05/bathroom-lighting-transformed-and.html

    Hope it works on your fixture!

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Chelsea
    February 21, 2011 at 3:27 pm

    Great idea on the bathroom fixtures! As I am cursed with old brass in my house it might come in handy sometime…

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Chelsea
    April 10, 2011 at 8:52 pm

    Great idea on the bathroom fixtures! As I am cursed with old brass in my house it might come in handy sometime…

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Karim
    October 25, 2011 at 1:11 pm

    What a cool chandelier! chandeliers I never get tired of the spray-painted before and afters. It's amazing what a little color can do.