Chalkboard Project: Outdoor Dresser

Last Spring, I found this on the side of the road.

I couldn't resist it and begged my husband to pick it up and bring it home. Yes, it was in pretty rough shape. But it was a nearly identical match to a piece of furniture we have that belonged to my husband's grandmother. It made me happy to see another piece like it and when I saw the free sign above it, well, that kind of sealed the deal.

Fast forward to the summer. We got some furniture for the porch but it wasn't filling the space quite right and my mom recommended bringing this dresser (that had been living in my garage) to the porch. Knowing it wasn't in great shape to begin with and that it was going to be living outdoors, I wasn't interested in spending too much time or effort in refurbishing it.

Just like in the How to Paint Furniture post, I sanded it (1) and applied primer (2), but this time I spray painted it with Rustoleum outdoor spray paint (3).

I started spraying on a hot and humid day and I think that affected the look. After many light coats, I still wasn't getting an even coat so I slightly roughed up the surface by using a super fine sander and then applied one last coat of paint, this time with a roller. Once dry, I put on two coats of Wipe-On Poly.

One of my favorite things about this dresser are the drawer pulls. Instead of dull and drab, I wanted the pulls to be a noticeable feature about the dresser so I sprayed them silver.

The best part about painting this piece black is the amount of forgiveness that the black color brings. There were large nicks in the wood and areas where the wood had just completely broken off but the black conceals it all. The dresser now sits right next to my front door and is one of the first things I see when I look at the house. It's the perfect height for displaying seasonal items and pretty things. Currently home to pumpkins, in the spring it will be topped with plants and blooms and come next summer, I can already envision it with trays of snacks and pitchers of lemonade!