Bold green dresser makeover with decoupage drawers

 

We just finished painting what may go down as one of my favorite furniture pieces of all time.  Mr Magic picked up this ornate buffet  (my friend Paula says it’s a “Mediterranean dresser “— I have no idea, I just paint stuff!!!) – at a thrift store for me awhile back.

 

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It was a bit of a wreck but I was obsessed with the curvy detail and the chunky handles and couldn’t wait to paint it. 

 

I’ve also been feeling a little bored with a lot of the pieces we have been painting lately, so I wanted to do a wow piece just for fun. I asked my Facebook crowd which bold color I should go for and after getting hundreds and hundreds of your answers…. it was about an equal vote!  So I had to pick one and we rolled with it. My tutorial is below!

 

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I decided to go this amazing, bold, green apple color. I had Stephanie, one of the girls who works with me, stipple the first coat of Heirloom traditions Direct Green on the piece.   Stippling the paint on makes it so much easier to get in every crack and cranny. It also helps to camouflage less than perfect finishes and hides brush strokes!

I pinky swear that using bold colors is only terrifying for the first few seconds. Then whenever I’m using a bold color, that familiar squealing-on-the-inside-excitement takes over. It’s the same excitement that made me fall in love with paint as a 21 year old single homeowner who wanted to redo every room in her home on a shoestring budget. It’s just so fun to go bold. Life is too short for boring paint. xoxo

 

After one coat of the paint, the finish was still too see-through and uneven as you can see in this photo above, so we stippled on a 2nd coat.  We let it dry and ran a sanding block over the edges of the piece so it would look more distressed.

 

See the wood tones coming thru on the edges?  I’m so in love with that look!  We used a sponge to apply a thin coat of gel stain over the top of this piece because the top was a mess with scratches, sticker residue….. the usual thrift store stuff.  The stain helped to even it out and deepen it a bit.  Then we applied a coat of polyacrylic over the stain.

We used Muddy Pond wax over the green paint to soften the color. And then I went rogue and added a homemade chocolate glaze to the cracks too (I will have my own glaze for you to order soon!)

 

I decided I needed to have fun with the recessed drawers on the piece. I often decoupage drawers .  You can find other decoupage drawer ideas from me HERE and HERE.  I was looking at these 2 patterns and decided on the white and gold because the scroll-y nature of the paper went well with the architecture of the piece!

I did a quick video for you HERE on how to decoupage dresser drawers. It’s highly technical and you’ll want to take notes (that’s sarcasm) . If you can crease paper with your fingernail, you’ll do just fine on this step.

This 1Gel decoupage medium (listed below) is sooooooooo good. It’s easier to work with than Mod Podge because it’s thinner and it has a longer working time. After you apply the 1Gel and the paper, you let it dry overnight and do a sealing coat of the 1Gel the next day.  It’s super simple.

 

I felt like the handles were a little ho-hum and I wanted them to be golder, so I rubbed Rub and Buff, my favorite for small projects like handles, on the edges. Those small tweaks to details make such a huge impact on a piece!!!  See the difference?

 

I loved the gold accents so much that then I rubbed some of the Rub and Buff over a lot of the details.  I also didn’t brush my hair that day, but it’s all good because I am painting furniture y’all.

 

And there you have it. My bold green buffet Mediterranean dresser. Perfect for an entryway, a dining room, a craft room, a girl’s bedroom!  I am absolutely obsessed with it.

To make life easy for you, I make you a supply list:

• Direct Green chalk like paint 
• Chalk paint brush — MY FAVORITE BRUSHES EVER!
• Muddy Pond wax 
• 1Gel decoupage material
• Tissue paper from Hobby Lobby
• Chocolate glaze that I made myself (I am working with a company right now to have premixed glaze available for you all to buy from me shortly!!)
• Rub and Buff in gold leaf
• Stain for the top rubbed on with a sponge
• Water based polyacrylic for the topcoat

I hope that is helpful!

 

Every picture in this post is pinnable for you if you want to save it for later.  And we will have it on my Pinterest today!

So I’d love to know your thoughts on bold, bright colored furniture?  Do you have any pieces in your room?  Prefer neutrals?  Do you think my green is obnoxious or amazing? Let me know!

Happy painting,

Jennifer

For more furniture finishes, check out my DIY videos where I’ll walk you through step by step how to paint furniture and cabinets!

 

 

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