A DIY, home decor, lifestyle and interior design blog based near Savannah, GA.
I did this one for an old high school friend of mine who liked the idea of toy storage that didn’t have to look like toy storage. You can find the one I did for myself here: Lego Storage Dresser Revival.
Not too much distressing. Just enough to add character.
Add some lovely water hyacinth baskets…
Some pretty stuff on top…
And, voila’, Pottery Barn’s got nothin’ on me! You’d never guess there were toys in there, would you?
[…] Like I said, I think I finally have this blogging thing down though it is still not my second nature. My strength is in the doing of the project. The bloggin and social media part of it is still something I have to work on. I am, however, doing a much better job on sharing info on current posts. My plan is to go back and do follow-up posts on some of my most popular posts from the past with additional information, for example: The Full Room Revival and the Pottery Barn Style Dresser Revival. […]
[…] ‘Southern Revivals’, this “revival” is amazing! This pottery barn style dresser makeover looks like a store bought piece, and I love it! An old dresser that was missing drawers […]
Wow, Jamie! This is seriously amazing. Beautiful makeover!
Thank you so much!!
What did you use to sit the baskets on? in the before picture it looks like there is nothing there.. and the after there is some sort of board or wood so that the baskets don’t fall into the drawers. am i making any sense? hahha!
Yes! You make perfect sense. I have to rework the inside on some of the pieces to accomodate the baskets!
i have the same question…i want to do make a dresser into a console for tv components and need to have a flat surface…any advice?
You know what, it honestly depends on the piece. I’ve never been able to do the same thing twice! That would be too easy!
Where are the baskets from??
These are from Lowes.
Did you paint it then distress or stain/ distress? I want to try this 🙂
What color stain did you use???
Love your idea after you painted did you add a gloss finish so the paint dosnt peel off.
beautiful work !! I have an OLD OLD coffee table I was just going to re stain a lighter color but originally wanted to do it black. What did you use to get this look ?
Found you on Pinterest. I’ll being doing tons of furniture revivals soon! This will come in handy!!
What black paint do you use?
Can you pull out the baskets and show what you use in there to keep them up? I need to do this with an old piece of furniture I have but I haven’t been able to think of what to do where there drawers used to be.
I would also be curious to see how you keep the baskets in place. a piece of plywood?
Thank you all so much! Please be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel for upcoming videos on some of my techniques:
http://youtube.com/southernrevivals
Also, be sure to Like my Facebook page for frequent updates.
Thanks again!
Love all your revivals. What paint / stain / finish do you recommend for wood furniture like this?
I looked at your YouTube and there was nothing on this type of work!
I wonder the same. Really interested in trying my own projects, but don’t see any clues to how you do your work.
Anika & Janell,
My YouTube will be in full swing at the beginning of the year. I will be offering basic painting and furniture refinishing tutorials. I do not offer tutorials or step by step instructions on my custom pieces as these are one of a kind, custom pieces for my clients. However, my videos will teach you the skills necessary to DIY some pieces of your own so I hope you’ll join me and stayed tuned. Thank you!
So it’s 2016, and I don’t see any of these tutorials on your YouTube page, and there’s only a few videos as it is. Just curious if you were going to be posting any? Thanks!
Hi Jamie
I’d always planned to but there’s just so much else to get to. Most of my videos are embedded into their corresponding posts and aren’t viewable from my YouTube (because they wouldn’t make sense on their own). Hopefully I’ll get to doing more in depth videos dedicated to YouTube in the future.
WOW! This is EXACTLY what I’ve been looking for. The size and functionality of a dresser that doesn’t look like a dresser! Hoping to be able to find a “How I did it” section. Brand new to Pintrest 🙂
I always knew you were good at taking something and making it useful and more attractive
Your ever loving RGAN
Oh wow that is fantastic, I cant believe you have managed to make the dresser look so god. Do you have any tips for newbies on reviving furniture?
I just want to know how to do this type of distressing! grrrrr.
I have a dresser that is dying for this treatment!
I am trying to do the same thing with my old dresser, but I cannot find a stain that matches what you used. Please post the paint/stain you used for the Pottery Barn makeover. Thank you
Hi Alex,
I did not use a stain, only paint. It’s just Black from Benjamin Moore. I talk a little more about the kind of paint I use, and why, when using latex in this post: https://www.southernrevivals.com/2014/04/uncle-joes-dresser-answers-questions.html
Hey Jamie! I LOVE this dresser revival and wanted to let you know that I’m featuring this post tomorrow for Round-Up Monday (with a linkback, of course). If you would rather not be featured, that’s fine, just let me know! You did an amazing job:)
Katie
www.funhomethings.com
Thank you Katie! I really appreciate the share!
How would a beginner go about doing something like this? Do you have to “remove” the finish, paint over it and then sandpaper it down? Is it THAT easy or is there more to it? I LOVE this look.
Occasionally, if a piece is very shiny I do sand very lightly to give the paint something to stick to. Otherwise I do not remove the finish in order to paint. Using the correct materials, paint designed specifically for painting furniture, for example, will make your job much easier. It is that easy! I do recommend starting with something small and practicing before moving on to a large project.
Can you help me out with HOW you refinished it? I have the perfect dresser, but I don’t know the steps to take to refinish it. If you could tell me what you did then I think I can adapt it to my piece.
I truly hate to be vague but it really just depends on the piece, what it’s made of (is it all wood?) and how it’s been cleaned (i.e. Old English polish, etc.) I plan on doing a Basic Furniture painting series starting in Jan. For the best results, be sure you clean it well with a degreaser, sand lightly if necessary and be sure you’re using a paint designed for painting furniture. Oh! And have fun!
I love the make-over, however it would be extremely beneficial if you provided more detailed instructions. There are no steps on how to take it from thrift store to fab find.
There’s no step by step process though…After reading some of the comments it’s like you don’t want to share? Is there a step by step anywhere by chance or similar to this?
I’m sorry that’s the impression that you get. Many of the questions were answered via email because this post was on a different platform at the time it was originally posted. You may find this post helpful: https://www.southernrevivals.com/2014/04/uncle-joes-dresser-answers-questions.html
Hi there-I’m a first time reader- just love the cabinet. cheers!
Hi Angela! Thank you and welcome!
I’m having trouble finding large pulls like this. You did a dark blue dresser with large pulls too. Can you share a source for the pulls?
Hi Linda,
Honestly, I get my hardware from so many different places like Hobby Lobby, Amazon, etc. I really need to put together a post or at least go back and add links to existing posts. I’m not sure which blue dresser you’re referring to but if you’d like to have a look here: https://www.southernrevivals.com/category/furniture-makeovers/client-files/ and let me know which one you’d like more info on, I’d be happy to help you.
Looks great – but people are looking for help/advice!!
Thank you! But I’m not sure I take your second point. I have offered help and advice throughout the comment section here in this post, having answered every question I’ve received either here in the comment section or via email. Perhaps you’re new to my blog in which case you may not realize that this post is almost a decade old. It was written when my blog was hosted on a different platform and was, at that time, just used as a client portfolio.