So this project was very very very very easy albeit there were a bunch of math involved, so that part was hard because I’m awful with numbers. There is math involved because you want to be pretty exact with your measurements otherwise it creates more work for you. Now, I didn’t include the measurements I used because IDK if you’ll find the exact same piece as me. But basically, what I did was measure out the top and bottom. For the top? I wanted to add about an inch to create more surface space. So back to this piece... I was given 2 (very ugly very gross very icky) reddish brown bedside drawers from my sister. But whatever, it was free and there was some amazing potential!
Not to mention, the bedside tables were short and they're pretty old. So far, I'm most proud of this project because I did everything by myself with zero help from my bf. For this project you'll need paint (I used spray paint), wood boards cut and sized, stain, palm sander, furniture legs, dresser pulls, wood screws, wood filler, and hand drill. To begin, you'll need to lightly sand the entire surface down because this "wooden" dresser is not real wood, it's actually laminate which means that paint won't 'stick' onto the surface (remember my white vanity cabinet?). I Googled it, and what this means is that a picture of wood was put onto a ply board. After sanding, I spray painted it 3 times -- honestly, this is what takes the longest because you can't do anything else. Ugh so annoying. After waiting forever, I used a polyurethane spray to seal the beautiful color and then I had to wait forever again because it had been raining a lot in Chicago so the garage was too humid for the seal to dry quickly enough. Now, after what felt like years of waiting, I had 3 wooden planks for the top of the side table, and 2 exactly cut size planks for the bottom so that I could add furniture legs to add height! I want to quickly rave about the hairpin legs I ordered from Amazon for $16.99 for a set of 4, and I will say that I am VERY impressed with the product, because hairpin legs are the new midcentury modern look and they're usually pretty expensive.
Back to talking about wood, I added the other plank on the other side, sanded them down, and used polyurethane! Just be careful to measure your project piece and make sure the screw won't miss the ply board (or original structure), other wise the dresser will not be sturdy! See, 1-2 of my screws missed the ply board so you can see that it's poking out... guess I should have measured, so learn from me.
But luckily, it was 1 on this side, and another 1 on the other dresser so no big deal but just be sure to careful measure out where the screws should go! Also, it would be a good idea to drill pilot holes first. What that means is using a drill bit to pre-make(?) a hole that is slightly smaller in diameter than the screw you will be using. If you don't, you can split the wood! Here's a quick Youtube video. Also, it helps if you don't drill too close to the edge of the wood. I was using cheaper wood, from a pile at Home Depot that was 75% off, it's still a decent sized/color wood but it was a softer wood (I didn't know this but apparently wood have different hardnesses... and I mean wood from trees).
After I finished added the boards, I screwed in the hairpin legs. If you can see one piece of the leg in the picture above, it's base is like a right angle. I matched it up to the right angle of the wood board, marked out all of the screw holes, drilled pilot holes, and then drilled in the screws. EASY. Since the dresser pulls (came with a few and I used some for the Vanity Cabinet) I ordered from Amazon were gold, I spray painted the hairpin legs to match! Now flip the dresser upright, and you can begin adding the wood planks onto the top! I had 3 boards screwed in back to back (remember to drill pilot holes!), and then sanded the edges and top surface down.
You don't have to but I used a wood filler, which is like a weirdly dry but wet-ish sand thing that you use to fill in any cracks or holes. The wood planks I bought, like I mentioned were in the sale section of HD. Usually wood like that isn't perfect, I'm not like a wood person so I have no idea what the terminology is but basically some wood are bent and curved (LOL, ok enough jokes), some have weird marbling, some have weird cut marks, and some have darker spots to them. But there isn't necessary anything wrong with the wood, just some contractors and builders can't use them and so, us DIY-ers get lucky! God, I keep going off tangent, but anyways, it takes about 2 hours for the wood filler to dry, just follow the instruction on the back on how to use it, but you also have to sand the wood fill down and then FINALLY you are able to sand it. I used the same stain as my white vanity cabinet, used polyurethane to seal everything and then it was finally done. I waited for my bf to come home from his work trip and made him carry it upstairs because I did everything else and I just didn't feel like it plus he just happens to have bigger biceps than me. BUT I PRESENT TO YOU MY MOST PROUD PROJECT!!!! I haven't finished decorating it but look at how beautiful the bed side tables turned out!
I am honestly obsessed and I'll have them forever <3
Comments