dresser revamp

Like many before us, when Will and I moved into our one bedroom (one closet) apartment there were space issues. These mostly stemmed from my excess of clothing and of course limited space. We had already filled the tiny one bedroom with one large dresser and a queen size bed, so there was only one option for where to put another dresser, stuffed in between the foot of the bed and a wall upon which the closet door opens. Needless to say, this left us with very specific dimension limits for a piece. Luckily, Portland (specifically SE Hawthorne) has a pretty amazing selection of affordably priced furniture. However, finding a dresser that's less than 30" wide was still a struggle. Then I spied this little guy in the very back of Lounge Lizard:

He was reasonably priced, in decent shape, and most importantly the perfect size. The paint job certainly wasn't wowing me (especially compared to the many amazing pieces in this amazing shop) but I figured I could make do until I came up with some paint solution (There's always the trusty high gloss black). It wasn't until we got him home that we realized the real problem:

Unfortunately, the off-white (and frankly beginning to chip) paint color seems to be that exact color that all renter's know and love. The cheap wall paint of every apartment I've ever lived in. The dresser ended up looking horrible. It looked like a built-in that wasn't built in. Something had to be done, but what? I toyed with the idea of painting it many colors, mostly ranging from slate to black (really stepping out of my comfort zone-I know), and even changing the handles. But the handles were really interesting to me and without them there was really nothing special about this dresser at all. Then, Anna from Door Sixteen swooped in with the perfect solution, accentuate the handles. How didn't I think of it? This is why I'm still a meager renter, not a home owner. So I started stripping paint and sanding, all in my tiny kitchen (where else?):

Needless to say, things got messy. So excuse this "in progress" shot. I swear the kitchen usually looks pretty good. It's one of the best features of the apartment. Just not here... But after stripping and sanding, staining and painting:

So you'll have to excuse the flash, even mid-day this time of year in Portland there's not much natural light, and it was necessary for getting an accurate color. But I have to say, I'm super proud. being that this dresser is basically the first this you say when you enter our bedroom, I'm completely pleased. I really do have to thank Anna, because looking at it now, I can't imagine it any other way. So there you go! That's my dresser revamp, and I couldn't be happier!