Monday, January 11, 2016

Black-on-Black Chest of Drawers


Once upon a time, I bought a chest of drawers at a thrift store. It was the perfect size. It was most definitely NOT the perfect color.

I painted it into a more pleasing appearance, and it lived for a few years in stripey, batty glory.

Then I decided to make it over again, this time with a bit more sophistication. One thing I've learned from GIY projects is that small details, such as feet and molding, can have a big impact on furniture. So I began this makeover by turning the chest of drawers upside down in order to add feet.

I made feet by cutting some balusters into pieces (same as in my kitchen).

To attach them, I cut a piece of plywood to size, drilled holes in the plywood and feet...

And attached each foot to the plywood with a screw.

Ideally, I would have used just one piece of plywood. However, I didn't have a piece large enough, so I used two separate pieces. I attached the plywood to the bottom of the chest with screws.


To hide the plywood edges, I added some wood trim.

I righted the chest and added matching trim around the top edges.

I painted the piece with black latex paint in a matte sheen. I then used the same paint in a semi-gloss sheen to stencil a design on the drawer fronts and the sides of the chest.

I painted the sides and inside of the drawers purple and added adhesive shelf paper to the bottom of each drawer. I painted the knobs with silver (brushed nickel) spray paint.

And the makeover was complete!


This chest of drawers matches my dresser and IKEA Rast dog bed.

EDIT:  Adding some details in response to reader questions:

When I first got the chest of drawers, I sanded it a little to smooth out the nicks and dings. This wasn't a heavy-duty sanding job, just a bit of hand sanding on the problem spots. I then applied a coat of latex primer before painting.

I used Behr Premium Plus paint in "Black." (An unusually simple name for a paint color!) I used the matte sheen for the overall painting and the semi-gloss sheen for the stenciling. The purple is Behr in "Wild Elderberry" (left over from painting my bedroom walls).

I applied the paint with a small foam roller, plus a brush for the trim and inside corners. I used a small foam roller for the stenciling as well.

I used a Stencil Ease Victorian Baroque Wall and Floor Stencil. It's available on Amazon. Any stencil will work but wall stencils are easier because they are large and have marks to help line up the repeating pattern.

I attached the wood trim with construction adhesive. I used masking tape to hold the trim in place while the adhesive dried.

26 comments:

  1. OMG I want to recreate this so bad! Pray tell, what kind of stencil did you use?

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    1. I used a Stencil Ease Victorian Baroque Wall and Floor Stencil (Amazon link added above). I definitely recommend a wall/floor stencil because they have a repeating pattern for covering larger areas and marks to help you line up the pattern.

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  2. I really love your DIY projects, I can't wait to do a similar thing once I have my own space. I wish I could find a stencil, like the one you have used.
    Did you do any prep before-hand, such as sanding the cabinets? I would love for you to make a step-by-step guide so I can follow along.
    Does the spray-paint knobs rub off on your hands? I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS!!! :)

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    1. Thank you! I haven't seen the large wall/floor stencils in many stores, but I found lots of resources online.

      I sanded the chest just to smooth out the dings and scratches, then used a latex primer. I try to do some step-by-step photos, but unfortunately I don't have anyone to take action shots of the process. I edited the post to add a few more details.

      Spray paint is durable and does not rub off.

      I love questions! I'll see about adding a "contact me" link. :)

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  3. Oh wow I love it, I love, you really are the queen of revamping and gothic it up. Sorry, just I'm bit excited. Your talent always amazes me I'm feeling inspired. I absolutely lovve your stencil work if I attempted that it would look rubbish. Wow, wow wow

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    1. Thank you! :D I love to hear that my work inspires people. That's my main goal with this blog - to share ideas and inspiration.

      My first couple of attempts at stenciling looked terrible! The key is to practice (I practice on cardboard) so you know how much paint to load on the roller and how much pressure to apply.

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  4. You are amazing my dear friend, amazing!!!

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  5. I love this! I especially like how you added the feet to make it look more high scale. Very clever.

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    1. Thank you! Adding or changing feet makes a surprisingly big impact. A bit like changing shoes to dress up one's outfit, I suppose. :)

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  6. I really like what you've been doing with furniture and this stenciling! Also really happy to see you have two new furry house members these days. :)

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  7. That is such a cool paint job! I love it!

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  8. I was wondering where got the bat knobs, or did you make them? Thanks!

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    1. The bats are wood shapes from the craft store. I placed them behind plain wood knobs. There's some detail in this post:
      http://gothityourself.blogspot.com/2016/01/ikea-rast-dog-bed.html

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  9. Do you apply any kind of finish to your pieces to help protect the paint from scratching?

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    1. I have used polyurethane on some of my furniture pieces. However, I did not use any clear finish on the gloss-over-matte pieces because I thought it might diminish the contrast of the gloss and matte.

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  10. So hi. Way late to the comments but where did you the drawer knobs?

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    1. The bats are wood shapes from a craft store (Michael's, I think). I combined them with plain wood knobs. This post provides some details on how I combined the two:
      http://gothityourself.blogspot.com/2016/01/ikea-rast-dog-bed.html

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