Dresser to Desk...my new scrap table!

May 18, 2012 by nicolesamuels | 66 Comments

(NOTE: If you’re here to enter the Washi Workshop Giveaway, click to the next post down.) 

It only took us 12 years to get a new bedroom set.  When we got married we just decided to use the set I had gotten in high school since we had no money and were just happy to have a “set” of anything rather than the normal hodgepodge starting out furniture.  But for the past few years I’ve been dying to get a new set.  Something that was more our current taste.  So, finally, a few weeks ago… our new set arrived…and I love it!  That just left the question of what to do with the old stuff.  I was going to give it to goodwill or something, but then I started thinking about how I could convert to something I need/want with a little help from a can of paint.  You know how surfing Pinterest makes you think you can make anything look amazing with just a little paint?    So I started measuring, planning, reading online…and finally came up with a plan.  My husband was skeptical and thought…it’s a dresser!  It’ll never look like a desk!  It’ll be too high!  Where will you sit?  But I had it figured out in my head and I always thought I would like to stand to scrapbook and guess what…the dresser is exactly counter height (after I added the top…) and I convinced him to just work with me.  So after getting some guy friends to help wrestle this puppy downstairs to the play room (where my scrap area is), this is what we started with…..(sorry for the grainy phone pics!)

It had a mirror that we’d already taken off and obviously I’d already removed the drawers to prep it.  I knew the top of the dresser would not be big enough for what I needed, so I decided to add a new, bigger top on top.  If that makes sense.    We got a sheet of MDF from Home Depot and had them cut it to 32″ x 96″.  That’s a big desktop!  The dresser top itself is only 18″ x 68″, so there was going to be some overhand on the back and two sides.  I didn’t want to overhand too much in the front b/c I wanted to be able to easily access the drawers.  So the next step was adding some supports… L-brackets in the back (where they won’t be seen, so they didn’t need to be pretty) and corbels on the sides (they will be seen and I wanted something that would look nice once all painted out).

We had to cut a notch into the top to get them to fit correctly.  Next, we added the MDF top and screwed it down in a few spots until it felt really solid. An finally (not shown in the pic below) we added some trim to the edges of the MDF so they weren’t so sharp.

Now, I’ve painted furniture before using spray paint or whatever…but never really took the time to investigate how to do it properly.  This time, I read a LOT on blogs and websites and took their advice to heart.  I did NOT sand much.  I don’t have a power sander or anything.  But I went over the top lightly with a sanding block to make it really smooth.  Then I put on two coats of primer…I used Zinsser Cover Stain with a cheapie 4 inch roller that I tossed afterwards (since it requires paint thinner to clean).  In between each coat I sanded the top a little.  Then I started with the actual paint. I used Benjamin Moore Advance Semi-Gloss in Cloud White.  This paint dries with a harder, enamel like finish, but cleans up with water like normal latex paint.  It was awesome!  But they say to wait a day between coats and then several days before using it so it can fully cure or harden.  That was the worst part!    Here’s the paint almost done…

Looking better, right?    Finally once it was all cured I put the drawers back in and added some new hardware.  I painted the cupboard door that goes in the middle and planned to use it originally, but like it without it…so I may just leave it off and sand down the hinge holes. Wish I had done that before I painted!  Anyways.. I AM  IN LOVE with it and so happy with how it all turned out.  Amazing what some white paint can do!!!

I love that the kids can use the computer on one end and I can scrap on the other!

And that’s it…the big reveal!    I still need to add some shelves above the desk.  But that’s for another day!  I’ll have more info about how I organize my stash, keep my tools, etc (and more pics) on the SC blog in another month or so.  Thanks for taking the time to read this far! If you have any questions, let me know!

About these ads