Build a Planked Dresser Top

by Clair Seyler - woodpaintcreate.com

12 Materials

$15

2 Hours

Medium

I definitely stepped out of my comfort zone for this project, as I am more of a "paints within the lines" kinda gal. I didn't have any glaze and am not a fan of dark wax, so I used many methods to achieve the final look, which was inspired by old Swedish Gustavian style painted furniture.

But first I had to deal with the stained top of this nine drawer, Bassett built, vintage dresser. (Forgot to grab a before pic! Duh). I was disappointed to see it was the only part of the dresser that wasn't wood or at least wood veneer, so I grabbed some 1x4 and 1x5 pine planks to make my own wood top.

Once I had cut the planks to size, I removed the drawers and backing so I could reach in and secure the planks to the original top with screws (Drilling pilot holes first). Since lumber is never perfectly flat, I used a hand planer and orbital sander to smooth it out and stained it in Special Walnut.

I always ended up with brown when mixing paint or playdough as a kid, so I kept it simple using just two colors - Winter Gray in a homemade chalk paint, and Rustoleum's White Linen Chalked Paint.

After painting the base in Winter Gray, I began adding several layers of each color in different areas, wet and dry sanding in between, as well as dry brushing and making extra thick white chalk paint to build up the texture throughout.

I wanted the edges to show more of the Gray (with blue undertones), so I used dry and damp rags to wipe away some of the white from those areas.

I also added the horizontal Dentil trim moulding, which was applied with some wood glue and my most awesome Ryobi nail gun. The pulls were painted with the same colors, using Gray as the base and white in the nooks and crannies.

My unofficial OCD tendencies had me adding and removing and adding and removing paint for days... icon

This is why I need to stay away from subjective color mixing!

The paint was sealed with Rustoleum's Clear Matte (from their Chalked Paint line), and Polycrylic in Satin for the planked top.

Sold, to a nice person icon

Do you lile the planked wood topWould you have preferred a painted top to the planks?

Does the Dentil trim add to the look?

If you know an easier and more time efficient way for me to achieve this look, please help this detail-obsessed lass! icon

Thanks for stopping by!

Clair

P.S. Cost below dosen't include tools

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3 questions

Pj on Aug 02, 2018

How was the finishing touches of the bottom dresser? Shiny?

3
Tracy on Aug 02, 2018

Was the original top on the dresser too difficult to remove? It’s a beautiful piece but would prefer to not have double top.

4
Mika on Aug 04, 2019

How to clean around the stainless steel stovetop burns? I tried goo gone.

4