Shortly after she came to live with us, my Grandmother gave us a dresser that had belonged to my Pop's mom, my Great-granny Fern, long before I was even born. It was a very sturdy dresser, but in need of a make over.
Both pieces were varnished, or lacquered, or whatever they used to make them slick and shiny. I remembered pinning a tip on Pinterest (who doesn't love Pinterest?) about a primer that would make anything ready to paint. Enter the miracle primer Zinsser Cover Stain. The best part is that I found a quart of this liquid gold on clearance at WalMart for about half price. Score for me! It seriously covers and sticks to ANYTHING. But be warned. It's an oil-base primer, so if you don't wear gloves when you use it, and you happen to get it on your hands, you may as well remove your skin to get it off. Or that's what I've heard anyway. I would NEVER not pay attention to the fact that is was oil-based and use it without gloves. Nope, not me.
So, I took all the hardware off both pieces of furniture and used a small foam roller to primer them. Not too bad. I didn't put it on extra thick or try to have perfect coverage. I sort of just played it by ear and hoped for the best.
The primer was dry in about half an hour. I then used the WalMart brand paint in Tribal Smokestone to paint both the dresser and nightstand. Leelah picked the color, and it is very catching. And the WalMart brand of paint only ran me about $10 for a quart. Again, I didn't put it on super thick or try for perfect coverage. I went over the places that I felt needed it with a second coat, and everything was dry in about half and hour again. The primer underneath gives it sort of a rough texture, and I don't know if it's because I only lightly primered or because that's just how the primer is, but I like it.
On to the hardware. Of course the furniture wasn't from a matching set, so the hardware was different on each piece. The dresser had gold colored knobs, and the nightstand had a bronze toned knobs. Hmmm. Back to Walmart to buy some Krylon Colormaster Brushed Metallic spray paint in Oil Rubbed Bronze. I had never used it before now, but what the heck. It's really watery. I mean really watery, and it took 2 coats to cover the knobs well, but it is beautiful, and it dries in 10 minutes or less. Perfect.
Once everything was dry, I put all the knobs and drawers back in their places, and voila! a matching bedroom set, complete with new bed set, for less than $100. Not too shabby. The best part is, however, that Leelah loves it.
