A couple of months ago, I spotted a dresser at Goodwill.

It was dirty, musty, and ugly.

Here’s proof:

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Nothing like an adorable little helper to make a nasty task (see that grimy pink scrunchy from 1973?) a little more fun.

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Lots of dings, lots of dinginess.

But also, lots of potential.

Did you see the curvy lines, carved floral details, and those fantastic keyhole plates?

The minute I saw her, I knew that this sad, neglected hunk of wood could be revitalized with just a little love and, of course, a lot of paint.

Plus, when I asked Tamara—the super-nice manager at the Goodwill I frequent—if she could lower the price, she said, “For you, honey? Sure!” and then knocked it down from $25 to $15.

$15 for a potentially fabulous piece of furniture? Sold!

There are definitely benefits to showing up every week or so to rummage around—one of which is that the managers now recognize me on sight and are quite willing to knock a few dollars (or 10) off of my bill.

Of course, there are also downsides (check out #3). 

So, I loaded Collette (yup, just decided that now) up in our totally gnarly van (also #3), scrubbed her down (Collete, not the van; Sienna, the van, stays dirty most of the time), and gave her a good coat of Kilz oil-based primer.

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Then, I sprayed the keyhole plates with Rustoleum’s Heirloom White (it’s the shade that Kate of Centsational Girl paints most of her furniture, and, after seeing all of the amazing pieces she’s transformed with it, I just had to give it a try!) because I wanted a little contrast and focus on the details:

Next, I hauled out a half-empty can of Sherwin Williams Quite Coral—the same shade that I used to transform the garage sale chandy in my master closet makeover—and got to rolling and brushing to my little heart’s content (okay, so my heart would have been a little more content with eating cookies and drinking milk while paging through the latest issue of Anthro, but none of that would have gotten get the dresser done, so…).

Here she is, all gussied up, better than new, if you ask me:

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I put Collette in the craft room to house my ridiculously massive fabric collection. I got her finished up just in time for Della’s party, and once I’d stuffed her full of fabric, I used her as a sideboard for the party treats.

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Two of the drawers weren’t salvageable, so I made little “drawer curtains” out of Premier Prints zigzag fabric + some clearance lace I had in my stash.

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I also bought these fantastic knobs for 1/2 off at Hobby Lobby. 6 of them still cost more than I paid for the entire dresser, but in my opinion, they are sooooo worth it!

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Here’s a shot of the whole birthday vignette (man, I wish I’d dropped that banner a little lower!).

These shots are not actually from the day of the party, though it looked essentially the same. I took these pictures yesterday after I’d baked up a bunch of treats to take with us to Thanksgiving, but this is what my cake stand would have looked like if I’d managed to cram everything I wanted to get done into the the prep time I had before the party.

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Here’s the cost  breakdown for the whole project:

Dresser: $15

Knobs: $27

Primer (I used maybe 1/2): $3

Spray paint (I used 1/4 of a can): $1.50

Paint (already had it): $0

Fabric (already had it): $0

Miscellaneous other supplies: 4.50

TOTAL: $51

So, what do you think? Worth it?

I’m pretty smitten, but I’d love to hear your thoughts!

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

I’ll be soaking up every minute I can get with my man before he heads off on another work-trip. : (

P.S. Don’t forget:

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0 Comments

  2. lol, You crack me up. My husband seriously thinks I’m insane, laughing at my computer screen and mumbling things like, “Oh my Gawd don’t touch that scrunchy with your bare hands!” and *GASP* “I lurrrrve that coral color!!!”

    Anyway, your dresser turned out AH.MAZ.ING. The bright color and fun pattern are perfect inspiration for the craft room. I expect Colette is adoring being adopted by your family. Seriously, who wouldn’t want a mind-blowing makeover and a new purpose in life?!

    ~Nicole @ http://www.shabbybeachnest.com

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  3. I love this, coral is one of my favourite happy colours. I would love to introduce it to a room.

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  7. I love your imagination! Wow! One question, though. I’d like to paint my daughter’s bed. It’s wood, with a shiny white (lacquer?) finish. You mentioned that you use Kilz oil based primer… but what KIND of paint do you use? Oil based? Super glossy? Do you brush it on or do you spray it? If you brush… do you get brush marks or do they “level” out? OK – that was more than one question… but you’ve inspired me!

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  10. This is absolutely gorgeous. An almost magical transformation, although you had plenty of hard work. The color is amazing, the key plates are a spectacular addition and I love those knobs.
    Ruth

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  13. What an awesome find for $15!!
    Love how you improvised with little curtains where the drawers couldn’t be saved.
    LOVED IT!

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  16. Uh, I am in LOVE with it! Man I wish our Goodwills stocked furniture pieces like that! That’s exactly what I’m looking for. Arizona stinks for good unique vintage pieces. That and the fact that they overprice EVERYTHING!!! Good job, love the color and the lines of the dresser!

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  21. I think this looks amazing!! Great job! Did you have to strip it or sand it or did you just prime it?

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  22. She is stunning! I love the color you choose. I love that you left key plates white and I really really love the drawer curtains!

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  31. Love this dresser redo! I’m glad I found your blog. I’m a new follower, so stop by and follow too if you like. I love new blog friends. Happy New Year

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  49. This dresser turned out GREAT!!! I’m your newest follower, too!! And just so you know, your comment last night made me LOL! Seriously cracked me up!!! Glad you stopped by those popping eyes and said hi! And I’m glad to know about your blog, now!!! Impressed!

    Aimee from ItsOverflowing.com

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  52. That dresser is really just too cool. Love how you added the “curtain” front to two of the drawers. Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing at Sunday’s Best. Now following you too.

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  55. WOW! She’s a real beauty. I would have never guessed that it could look like that. Excellent job! Cheers.

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  56. That is one great transformation. It kind of has a toned down Mackenzie Childs’ aesthetic. The color and the knobs are fab! I wish they had Hobby Lobby’s in New York. Recently, I was working on a project hoping to achieve the color of your dresser but it turned out to be a Halloween orange instead:( I wish I would have known about Sherman Williams Quite Coral. Nice job!

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  64. What a fabulous transformation! The color and fabric combination are terrific on your multifunctional piece!

    Thank you so much for linking to Potpourri Friday and becoming a friend and follower! I hope that you will make it a weekly stop. Usually we have 200+ participants! But as you now, this has been an unusual week.
    I am now following your too!

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  65. Ohhhh, I loooove it!!!! I love the color you used. You know by now that I love taking a run-down forgotten piece of furniture and turning it into something amazing, so I completely appreciate the time and effort you spent in giving this beaut a new life!

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  67. Amazing transformation! I clicked on your photo from Stuff and Nonsense just because of the color, but BAM! was hit with all the awesomeness in your post – you got mad skills woman!

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  68. I am speechless! I would have never come up with that color combo, but it is gorgeous. Great job and thanks for the inspiration.

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