Do they seriously let just anyone make a blog? Well, I'm about 99.9% sure no one will ever read this blog and that's ok, but I feel like I have a civic duty to create it. Well, at least this one post. I recently took on the endeavor of redoing my dresser and I just want to say pinterest has deceived me. Every blog or how-to page has everything working perfectly. In fact, the author deviates from the directions and miraculously it works even better. Well that's just not how things work out in the real world. Ever. So this is a post on what actually occurs when you attempt "do it yourself" projects. I'm not one to be full of myself, but I do consider myself to be intelligent enough to paint a dresser.
It all started with a pin on pinterest about getting rid of ugly manufacturer’s wood and getting a glorious, black stained, high-end looking cabinet. The secret was to use a gel stain on the wood. Okay, easy enough. Until I couldn't find gel stain in stores around me. So I look into the little footnote on the bottom of the post that says you have to order it online. Just me, or should that have been bold on the top of the post. Actually the title of the post. But that little hiccup wasn't about to stop me, so I look into regular wood stains. So I get ebony (why can't they just call it black?) stain, new handles, and other painting stuff. I get home from Lowe's with all my supplies and then sat on the couch watching T.V. because going to the store used up too much effort for one day. Next day though, I bust out my supplies and take the three drawers from my dresser out to my balcony to begin staining. I sand the three drawers "slightly" as the directions say. I put the wood stain on the first drawer and go inside because it's June in North Carolina and I need A/C. I came back out after the allotted time and the drawer looks exactly the same except the edges looked spotted blackish. I decided the problem was that I didn't sand enough. So the next drawer I start really sanding. As I'm sanding, I notice the wood is getting lighter. Really light actually. Like I can't see the wood grain light. And that's when I realize that I have a fake wood dresser. The wood grain was just painted on and who know what it was actually made of. Should have known since it was a piece of crap to begin with, hence the desire to redo it. So now I give up for the day. Days actually and my dresser drawers sat on my balcony and the contents of those drawers on my bedroom floor.
Eventually, I got over it with some help from my roommate prodding me to get my crap off the balcony. I couldn't just stop the project there because I have one drawer with the edges discolored and another with the "wood" sanded off. So I went back to my original plan before pinterest persuaded me and bought some black paint. It's easy enough to paint, so I lightly sand the fake wood and paint the three drawers black. First coat done, yay! Go to bed to let them dry. Until I live in North Carolina and there is an intense thunderstorm that pretty much drenches my drawers. I have no idea how it didn't ruin them, but it's probably because they aren't actual wood. Needless to say I needed an additional coat of paint. After they dry I went to put the handles on only to realize the previous holes do not line up with the new handles. Luckily my roommate has a drill, not that I know how to use it. She attempted to drill the holes for me, but on the first one slipped and messed up the paint (I don't blame her, the dresser is obviously cursed). Coat number three for the drawer. After the drawer debacle, I went on vacation and had a blissful dresserless week. Upon returning, I turned to the dresser itself. Sanding and painting went smoothly for both coats and I'm thinking I'm in the clear. Last step is to put the handles on and I'm golden. So I teach myself how to use a power drill and go on my merry way putting in new holes. First set done and I start to screw the screws into the handles. And I'm tightening and tightening and tightening since the handles are still pretty loose. I'm not a big girl, but I must be stronger than I look because here is the part where I break off the screw in the handle and realize that I need washers. Trip number four to the store for washers. I drill the remaining holes with some difficulty and put the remainder of the handles on with washers. As for the handle with the screw broken inside I have a dilemma. Drive back to Lowes and buy a new one? Or just tighten the other screw so much that the handle stays in place with only one screw? You can guess which one I did. Note to self: do not open dresser aggressively in future and there will be no problem.
So the dresser was complete and after all that I actually am happy with it. I posted a picture on Instagram and everyone thinks I’m all crafty and handy. Little do they know, but that dresser almost went over the railing of my third floor balcony on more than one occasion. That combined with the multiple trips, buying supplies that were useless, and spending about three weeks to even complete the thing and I would not classify this project as too successful. The finished product is at the end, but that’s not the point. The point is I wanted to give a "do it yourself" project blog that had a hint of reality.
P.S. I wish I had taken more pictures of the horrible middle, but I wasn't planning on doing this blog.
Before
*don't be jealous of my huge T.V.
After 