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A Distressed Dresser Named Rosalie

“A baby fills a place in your heart you never knew was empty.” – unknown.

This is what I’ve been working on:

A distressed dresser for a baby's room I Finding Silver Pennies

Meet Rosalie!

This pretty dresser just got dolled up for a new arrival.

Our friends, Nick and Leigh-Anne, are expecting their first baby. Isn’t that exciting! Nick had an old dresser that he wanted to use for their baby. This dresser was built by his grandfather, Thomas Canty, when he was just 16 years old.

It’s a gorgeous piece and so heavy.

Here’s a look at the “before”:

Dresser (before) I Finding Silver Pennies

Dresser (Before) I Finding Silver Pennies

They sure don’t make furniture like this nowadays! This is solid and so heavy and perfect for their baby girl. Nick and Leigh-Anne wanted to lighten it up and also wanted to change out the current hardware.

The nursery is a pretty blue violet and the crib is white so we decided to go with White Chalk Paint® for this makeover.

Here’s how the piece looks now:

A distressed dresser for a baby's room I Finding Silver Pennies

I took a few photos out in the She Shed.

This post contains affiliate links, if you purchase from my link I will receive a percentage of the sale.

I painted this dresser with a base coat of Country Gray Chalk Paint® which is a tan color. Nick and Leigh-Anne weren’t huge fans of the stain color. So we muted this down with the tan paint. The top layers are painted in Pure White Chalk Paint®. They originally thought they wanted Old White which is lovely but looked too yellow in the nursery compared to the crib and white trim.

I wish I could tell you that I didn’t have any bleed through issues but that wasn’t the case here. Despite doing my usual prep work of lightly sanding, washing down with mineral spirits, followed by warm water. I sealed the piece with two coats of clear shellac.

The stain was bleeding through under the white.

Not the crisp look we were going for.

I rolled two coats of primer on which seamed to do the trick in most areas but there were a few spots that still bled.

I spot primed with the BIN shellac based primer then I repainted with the above colors.

A distressed dresser for a baby's room I Finding Silver Pennies

White is beautiful but it can be tricky with bleed through.

I used 300 and 220 grit sand paper to distress and I did the distressing around the high points and the drawers.

A distressed dresser for a baby's room I Finding Silver Pennies

You now can see the pretty detailing around the top of the dresser.
It just seemed to disappear when it was stained but now stands out:

A distressed dresser for a baby's room I Finding Silver Pennies

They plan on placing the changing pad on the top. It’s gonna look perfect!

A distressed dresser for a baby's room I Finding Silver Pennies

The hardware is by Anthropologie and you may recognize it as we used it on our own nightstands.

It’s the Zinnia Handle in Linen:

A distressed dresser for a baby's room I Finding Silver Pennies

A distressed dresser for a baby's room I Finding Silver Pennies

The entire piece was sealed with Annie Sloan Clear wax and lightly buffed.

So perfect and elegant on this piece!

As you know I name my painted pieces. This one is named Rosalie.

Thomas’ wife was named Rosalie and Nick and Leigh-Anne are naming the baby Rosalie too.

So it seemed only fitting to name the dresser after these two ladies.

This dresser has such a history.

A distressed dresser for a baby's room I Finding Silver Pennies

A distressed dresser for a baby's room I Finding Silver Pennies

I’m so honored that Nick and Leigh-Anne trusted me with this family heirloom. I’m so excited to see sweet baby, Rosalie.

Nothing like a new little life.

A blessing from heaven.

Before & After - Nursery Dresser - Upcycling with Chalk Paint I Finding Silver Pennies

If you’re interested in learning more about painting your own furniture you might like my eBook:

Painted Furniture Techniques eBook by Danielle Driscoll of Finding Silver Pennies

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Virginia
7 years ago

Beautiful makeover!

Linda @ q is for quandie

Gorgeous makeover Danielle!

Donna
7 years ago

Very pretty. Perfect for a baby girl! And I love how you name your painted pieces 🙂

Kelly
7 years ago

She turned out beautiful! I love the name and I love it in your she shed! It is just perfect for a nursery!