DIY French Provincial Dresser Flip

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While scrolling Facebook Marketplace (which is quite a dangerous pastime), I came across this old grungy dresser.

It is a common French Provincial dresser. So, I didn’t feel bad about painting it. (I hate painting antiques if they can be salvaged/refurbished.)

The grungy dresser before pic! — *(The before picture – the dresser was so grungy it was no longer white.)*

We have been looking for a ‘long’ dresser for my oldest daughter’s room. Not only does she need more clothing storage, but she desperately needs more ‘counter-space’ for her tv, lamps, and picture frames.

The French Provincial dresser looks girly to me. It could easily work painted pink with gold accents in a ‘princess’ room! But you could also remove the decorative accents on the drawers and use it in a boy’s room too.

For $40, I knew that I could make this one work. And could even make it beautiful!

The Supplies

The dresser was $40 and the paint was $22. We had all the other supplies on hand. So, this whole project cost a total of $62.

orbital sander
sanding nets (120-grit)
rags
primer
mini paint roller
paint brush
paint (Benjamin Moore: Banana Yellow)

DEWALT Random Orbit Sander, 5-Inch (DWE6421),Yellow LotFancy 5 Inch Sanding Discs, 60PCS 80 100 120 180 240 320 Grit Mesh Abrasive Dustless Sandpaper Assortment for Car, Woodworking – Hook and Loop Random Orbital Sander Round Sand Paper Kingorigin 4 Piece 4 inch Mini Paint Roller Covers,4 inch Mini Paint Tray,4 inch Foam Paint Trim and Touch Roller kit,Home Repair Tools,Tools,Tool kit,Rust-Oleum Corporation Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 02001 Water-Base Primer, 1-Gallon, White Bristello 6pc Big and Small Chalk and Wax Paint Brush Set. Flat Furniture Paint Brush, Round, Pointed and Oval Paint Brushes for Furniture. Stencil Brush, Milk Paint and Wax Paintbrush

The Prep Work

After getting the grungy dresser home, I didn’t waste any time trying to clean this thing up.

I removed the knobs and peeled off the random blue felt glued around them.

Right away I knew that I wanted to replace the knobs. I didn’t see the point of having 2 knobs on each long drawer, so I filled in the holes with wood putty.

Sanding is an important step in any refurb project. — *(Sanding down the dresser drawers.)*

After letting the putty dry, I sanded all the drawer faces, the dresser’s sides, and the feet.

I didn’t sand the top because it is covered in white laminate that is in immaculate condition. Since laminate is super durable and will likely hold up to my kids’ abuse better than paint, I decided to leave it alone.

A lot of French Provincial dressers have laminate on the top. And if you know the reason for that, I would love to know why.

The Painting

After a quick wipe-down, I was putting on a coat of primer.

Thankfully, it only took one coat of primer as the dresser was already white. Then it was time for the ‘real’ paint.

Lainey’s favorite color has always been yellow. Even as a toddler, she would ask for anything ‘lellow’. It even fits her happy, sunny personality. So, without a doubt, we were painting her ‘new’ dresser yellow.

Painting the grungy dresser. — *(After one coat of yellow paint!)*

After 2 coats of paint on the grungy dresser. — *(After one coat of yellow paint!)*

Yellow is such a tricky color.

It is SOOO hard to find true yellow paint. They’re either too gold or too neon, it’s hard to find something in the middle. We found this Benjamin Moore: Banana Yellow and it was absolutely perfect!

As soon as the paint dried, we added the new knobs. (Also, why is picking out knobs so hard?)

I let Lainey pick out the knobs for the middle drawers at Hobby Lobby. The white flower knobs on the 6 side drawers were from Lowes and go so perfectly on this newly refurbished dresser.