By Danielle Peterson

Sondra Karben was looking for an old dresser to decorate for her son’s room when she stumbled upon this hidden treasure at a garage sale. “Old dressers have more character and are usually built better, with deeper drawers,” Sondra explains. She had recently redecorated his bedroom and wanted a dresser that wasn’t too plain. The remade piece combines black and silver paint with diamond-plate accents to create a cool, contemporary piece that’s just right in the new room.

Since the original dresser had a scrolled pattern along the top and bottom edges, Sondra enlisted the help of her husband to saw off the “girly” scrollwork. She used a belt sander on the entire piece to even out the surface and remove the remaining paint. When this was complete, Sondra primed all of the surfaces to ensure the paint would dry evenly. Once the primer dried, Sondra masked off and then painted the drawers and dresser ends in a rich black. After the coats of black paint dried, she applied silver paint to the top and framework.

To complete the dresser, Sondra’s husband drilled holes in the drawers for new hardware. Because the dresser has recessed panels on both sides, “I thought it would be neat with a diamond plate inset there,” Sondra says.

The dresser was finally done, without putting a dent in the family’s checkbook. “The total cost was under $100 for all that I did, including the $5 I paid for it,” she says. The best part about the completed project? “My son said the dresser was cool,” Sondra says.

To see the before picture of Sondra’s dresser, click here.

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