'Many Coats of Red' Dresser

This dresser was a beast to finish.  Oh my word.  It was very average when I picked her up.  Short (having no legs), and bland.  Just a boring old ‘forget-me-please’ waterfall dresser.  It was free though, so I was determined to jazz her up.

I started by adding the legs, first I added these big chunky blocky type legs, but they stuck out too far on the sides and back, so I traded for these more delicate ones.  I then (with the help of Mr. Chuckles) added the trim on the bottom to cover up the annoying trademark waterfall dresser curve.  Lastly I filled all the holes as I knew I was going to add lots of knobs.

Ok, time to start painting.  I tested my paint, and as I feared it went on like stain (next to no coverage)  I use Dulux Diamond because it dries rock hard and has great adhesion, but Im beginning to realize that in their darker colours, the coverage is pretty paltry. If I wanted stain, Id buy stain.

So I decided to prime with a darker colour.  I custom mixed up some primer first in red (but it looked too pink), so I added some gray and it created a sort of purple/gray colour. It’ll do I thought.  The problem was that when it dried it was actually quite dark.  Consequently my ‘red’ paint when on looking more like burgundy due to the dark primer lurking underneath. 

  
In the end it took about 5 coats of red paint plus the coat of primer.  That makes for a sore wrist.  I topped her off with some black glaze and finished her up with a good sand/distressing and a coat of poly.   I think she turned out pretty well considering where she started from, but lordy, Im doubtful I will use up the rest of that red paint anytime soon.

Below is the before, you'll notice she is doing a headstand.

Traditional Union Jack

For this Union Jack dresser, I decided to go for a traditional colour scheme, opting for a darker blue.  I began by painting the entire body of the dresser white.  Then I taped off the blue and red sections.

I painted the top the same blue as the front, and then I washed a dark glaze over it to further age it.  I used custom chalk paint for this.  Actually a combo - ASCP in Pure White, and Reetiqued chalk paint in dark blue and deep red.  :)   I used the grout recipe.

UPDATE: I have since bought a big box of DAP plaster of paris and I can say hands down that it gives a smoother finish than my grout did.

I used regular painters tape for my lines.  Taping the dresser out definitely takes the loooongest amount of time.  Fortunately I was painting in my kitchen (Mr. Chuckles LOVES when I do that!)  so my pal, the tv, was able to keep me amused during the dry times. 

I did get some bleedthrough, but I use little sharp edged artists brushes to tidy everything up.

I decided to keep the hardware, as it was so aged and burnished that it gave the piece a really rustic vibe which I think suits these dressers. Im not sure I could have cleaned it up even if I wanted to!

Overall I'm pretty happy with it! And so is the 12 year old One Direction fan who's room in now resides in.  Just below their hearthrobby poster!