Purple Love ~ My Paint Secret

Here's the dresser I painted for my new bestie, Danielle:

Danielle came for a different dresser that I advertised on craigslist, but found this one "before" in my side yard.  She picked out the color to loosely match the bedding she's chosen for her sophisticated, feminine guest room.  Purple is my favorite color, so I was happy to oblige. Here are some awkward "before" shots:

It didn't seem too bad at first, but then I realized that the previous owner of this gorgeous dresser hadn't prepared the surface AT ALL for painting. You could peel the old paint with your fingernail into strips like a bad sunburn.  This meant that I couldn't just sand the finish down ~ it just gummed up the sandpaper.

I had to strip the old paint off first ~ ugh. I found this great stripper (get your mind out of the gutter...) called Citristrip at Home Depot. It's an orange scented, thick gel so it's a little easier to take than most other kinds; but never forget that it's EATING the PAINT off of your furniture.  Please use gloves and a mask with plenty of ventilation.  Doesn't this look nasty?  It is. Stripping is the last resort for me. Hate it.

After scraping and scraping... and more scraping, the dresser was down to bare wood. I repaired a fair amount of veneer damage and primed it.  The top and sides were painted with a soft "Blossom White", and the sides and drawer fronts were painted in my ultra-secret paint, "Orchid" acrylic paint. 

Yep, acrylic paint ~ it's so wonderful and doesn't cost a whole lot.  One large bottle did this whole dresser in a beautiful soft velvety shade of purple.  That's my big secret..! One of these days, I'm gettin' me some chalk paint - but you can't beat the price and availability of acrylic paint. You can find it at any craft or fabric store in tons of shades and finishes.

I used a wipe-on poly for a nice hand-rubbed finish over all.  I spray painted the hardware a satin black, and added a scrolly monogram "f" for Danielle's last name. The top was finished off with antique crystal knobs ~ just right.

Oh ~ let's not forget the dresser's little buddy!

I can't wait to see the whole room when it's finished!  Danielle has promised me some pictures when it's done. She's so much fun to work with.

Thanks, Danielle, for letting me indulge in my passion for purple :)

See ya later,