The Interior DIYer
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Bedroom dresser update – reveal!

It may have taken me close to two months to do it, but I’m very excited to at long last be able to share our updated bedroom dresser! 

Around this time in December Rust-Oleum got in contact about working on another project. Our bedroom dresser was in serious need of being updated so I chose to repaint our dresser with Rust-Oleum’s Chalky Finish Furniture Paint in ‘Strawberry Vanilla’ and topped it off with some of their mat Furniture Lacquer [you can read my full design decision making process here]. It took much longer than expected to update our dresser [a handle order that went wrong + having a newish baby = things now take 42 times longer than I’d like], but despite the delay, I’m more than delighted with how it turned out. 

Because our dresser was so dark, it took 3 coats of ‘Strawberry Vanilla’ to cover the previous paint. I let the dresser dry for about 6 hours between each coat before adding the lacquer finish. I added two layers of lacquer as our dresser gets a lot of use and is also in a high traffic area in our room. I thoroughly mixed the lacquer, applied the first coat and waited 24 hours before applying the second coat as per the instructions on the tin. My one mistake was I didn’t thoroughly mix the lacquer before I applied the second coat and the second coat came out streaky. This was simply because the lacquer had settled in the tin between coats. I mixed it really well and applied a third layer of lacquer and it turned out perfectly. Because I added 3 layers of lacquer altogether, I let the dresser dry fully for about 2-3 days before putting the drawers back in and placing anything on top. 

Something I found really handy was applying the paint and lacquer with a small sponge roller. Using a sponge roller meant each layer was applied to the dresser and drawers from start to finish within 20 minutes. Whereas if I had used a brush, I’d say I’d still be working on it. 

The black Ikea borghamn handles really finish the dresser and work perfectly with the antique pink. I’m all about strong contrasts and juxtapositions, so the strong black handles balance the lightness of the dresser and tie it in with the rest of our room. They make it – dare I say – a bit sexy? 

I don’t want to sound overly dramatic, but I’m really in love with our dresser now. The reason I love interior design so much is because of the mental health benefits that come from updating a space. How one change to a room can make such a huge difference to a space and how you feel about that space. Our room was feeling a little bit dreadful these past few months, but a few coats of paint have really made such a difference. 

DISCLOSURE – while this blog post is not sponsored, I did receive this paint and lacquer free of charge from Rust-Oleum. As always, all words and opinions are my own. I only work with companies I like and of course, think that you will too. Thank you for supporting the companies that support The Interior DIYer. 

Also featured – faux marble bedside tables – faux marble step stool – our engagement story [in the large picture frame]
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Bedroom dresser update – the plans

Ever since I painted our bedroom black the night before Cora was born, there were a few things that needed to be updated. Our black curtains were one, and our dark grey dresser was another. Don’t get me wrong, I love black and wear nothing but black all the time, but there was too much of it in our room. Our dark dresser was now too close to the colour of our bedroom walls, and since we now had a baby, repainting a dresser was pretty low on my priority list.

At the beginning of December, Rust-Oleum got in contact about working on another project and asked if there was any furniture of ours that needed updating. I immediately thought of our bedroom dresser so took it as a perfect opportunity to update it in a completely new way.

Here’s what our dresser looked like before [and even before that – yeesh]. I spent a few days on Pinterest and decided on the lightest of pink paint. Rust-Oleum’s Chalky Finish Furniture Paint in ‘Strawberry Vanilla’ was perfect, topped with Rust-Oleum’s Furniture Lacquer to give a protective finish to the chalk paint. At first I was thinking of making our dresser very ornate with gold handles and add wood appliques to the drawers [kind of like this], but the longer I thought about it the more I realised it would be bad-fake [I’m not too keen on fake antiquing, unless it’s done really well and I didn’t think I could]. Our dresser is old and very possibly mid-century-something, so I decided to stick to a design that suited it a bit better. And something a bit funner.

Because our apartment is so small, there’s not much space between the end of our bed and the dresser. Our knees / pockets / hips were forever getting caught on the current handles, so I was on the lookout for a long handle that wouldn’t catch on our knees / pockets / hips. To make things just a bit more awkward, I wanted a handle that would fit the existing holes which were placed 416mm apart. I found a beautiful pair of handles on Etsy, but the order became not only very delayed, but complicated so it was cancelled. Which is the main reason this update took so long.

I checked the IKEA website and not only did they have solid non-knee / pocket / hip-catching handles that were spaced 416mm apart, but they were beautiful handles. They were black borghamn handles and they were solid iron. I’m so close to finishing our dresser update and in fact I’ll be heading out today to pick up the sweet, sweet handles in what I’m hoping will be the fastest IKEA trip ever [I’m sure I’ll be over-sharing on my InstaStories if you’re curious]. Wish me luck. 
DISCLOSURE – while this blog post is not sponsored, I did receive this paint and lacquer free of charge from Rust-Oleum. As always, all words and opinions are my own. I only work with companies I like and of course, think that you will too. Thank you for supporting the companies that support The Interior DIYer. 
Previous projects with Rust-Oleum – faux marble bedside tables  
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Operation de-uglifying our storage heaters

When I look back at all the work I’ve done to bring our rental apartment to where it is, I’m pretty proud of myself. Repainting the entire apartment. Updating the kitchen and bathroom. Sanding, prepping and repainting all the yellowed doors and skirting boards throughout our apartment was a tall task, but worth it. Even though we’re only renters and don’t own our apartment, I take pride in knowing our landlord is over the moon that we’ll be leaving our apartment in better condition than we found it. I like a good project, no matter how remedial and non-glamorous it is. 

Now that all the skirting boards and doors are no longer yellow, the only remaining major eyesores were the heaters. And boy, were they eyesores …

With the most epic of timing, Rust-Oleum got in contact with me and asked if there was a product of theirs I’d like to try out. I did a quick search on their site and when I saw their radiator enamel spray paint, I knew I had to try it. 

The most noticeably yellowed heaters in our apartment are the two in our living room and one in the hallway. There are two more [one in each bedroom], but they’re nowhere as obvious. Once my Rust-Oleum paint arrived I got to work. I asked Dad DIYer to help with dismantling one of the storage heaters with me so I could see how easy it would be to dismantle the rest of them on my own. Storage heaters are full of bricks and I as I explained in my upcycled vacuum cord pendant post, anything electrical make me all kinds of nervous. I felt a lot better knowing my dad was helping out. 

NOTE: please read all manuals that come with your heater / radiator before disassembling them and disconnect the mains where necessary. But you guys knew that.

We dismantled both the front and top panel on the storage heater for spray painting. Ideally, I was hoping to disassemble the entire heater to spray paint it elsewhere, but we were stopped in our tracks when we discovered the heater was on brackets that were bolted under the floor boards [which you can better see in the last picture]. So I was going to need to paint the side panels indoors. 

Before long the heater looked like a Mr. Bean special. As advised by Dad DIYer, I taped a giant plastic bag around the exposed side panel [not pictured] and spray painted within the bag so the overspray didn’t get everywhere. I then took the remaining panels outside and gave them 2 coats of  Rust-Oleum’s white radiator enamel paint, let them dry and reassembled the heater again. 
TIP: cover any text or instructions on your heater with masking tape before you spray paint. Because remember, you won’t be the only one using them now or in the future.

Since it took a bit of planning to paint the one heater, it’s the only heater I’ve repainted so far. But I am very much looking forward to our heater[s] doing what they’re supposed to – disappear into the background, not be a focal point and keep us warm. I for one am so happy with the result. No more fugly radiators! I know, I’m easily amused.

Thank you again, Rust-Oleum! 

Disclosure – Rust-Oleum generously supplied radiator spray enamel free of charge to help in my never ending quest to update our rental. As always, all words and opinions are my own. I only work with companies I like and of course, think that you will too. Thank you for supporting the companies that support The Interior DIYer.