campaign-lookalike tall boy dresser

My parents had this tall boy sitting around in their place of work without an owner to claim it, so knowing their daughter has a bit of the Furniture Hoarding Syndrome, asked me if I wanted it... I didn't even know what it looked like, but a resounding yes was what they got! (Free?? Fo' sure!)

My parents, not yet knowing the transformational power of paint, encouraged me to leave it as-is, saying it looked very nice and didn't need any improvements. Apparently my parents love orange-y wood, but that's another story.

After letting it sit around for a couple of weeks while I walked around it many times wondering what to do with it, I eventually decided I would create my own makeshift campaign tall boy dresser.

I researched online and found campaign hardware to be quite expensive, so with a trip down to Lee Valley (where I got my hardware for my Ikea RAST makeover), I managed to find some recessed handles for about $16 per piece (for 'D', the large polished brass one).

I also saw these campaign chest flush handles that were priced from $40 - $57 per piece!! (i barfed a little when I saw that).

When I asked the sales associate how to attach recessed/flush hardware to furniture (laminate or solid wood), he said you would need a sharp chisel to cut out the part where the hardware would need to fit.  

Chisel?! (I'm already envisioning the thing slipping and accidentally stabbing my arm). No thanks.

Instead, I found this amazing alternative. It's a surface mount handle.

 

It has the same look (a thicker though), but requires no chiseling (or stabbing of limbs). It's also priced at $6.50 apiece (a way better price point)!

After removing my dressers and hardware, I gave it two coats of Kilz Odourless primer (great for refinishing stuff indoors during the winter), and wanted to try using Martha Stewart's paint test samples (they were on sale from $4.99 to $1!! I think the promotion is still on & you can score some at Home Depot if you get a move on!). I tried the 'Sharkey Gray'.

 But as I began painting and the first coat started to dry, I wasn't that big a fan of the beige-y undertone in the paint. It looked a bit funny when the shiny gold hardware was beside it.

 

Solution: I didn't want to go out and spend another $20-$30 on paint, so I used some leftover paint I had from my french table & credenza (maybe some would say not to mix different finishes of paint, but the result was a semi-glossy eggshell thing). 

I had a whole lotta grey paint and a tad bit of white... It ended up being the perfect light grey I wanted.

on the left: MS Sharkey Gray; on the right: my concoction.

left: Sharkey Grey. right: mine.

Okay, I'm sure you're sick of the comparisons. Well, this is all just to say that I was happy with my mix and moved right along with the project :)

Warming: the next coupla' pictures are in low light and might be offensive to your eyes. Bear with me...

To attach the hardware, my husband and I lined up all of the drawer fronts, measured out the middle of the drawers and apparently used a blurry pencil to mark our place.

Every drawer front had a light line down the middle (as you can see, the actual holes from the original hardware are not centre! Another thing I have to show my parents when they get sad I refinished this lovely orange dresser. This proves it needed my help, right?)

Carefully, we made sure the hardware was straight... 

And they were drilled securely in place. For some reason I kept drilling them in crooked, so my hubby had to come in to save the day... sigh, a damsel in drill-stress.

When it was all completed, 

the final product: a make-shift campaign credenza...

no chiseling required...

with no orange wood showing (*sigh or relief*)

I am definitely ecstatic about how it turned out...

let's just take a scary walk through memory lane: Here's the before:

and here's the after:

I'd say a small step up from what it used to look like! ;)

Even my diva bunny enjoys it!

I decided to use it as a craft storage dresser. As of now, my patient husband had to endure this in our kitchen for the past while...

I've used a corner as my craft dumping ground and well, it's been an eyesore for quite some time (there was a moment in time when I was in denial of how scary it was... I referred to it as my 'studio', but that lasted for about 10 minutes. haha).

Now my dresser houses all of my paints & glues...

and has a growing collection of felts & fabrics...

And I'm slowly starting to collect all of the paper, spray paint cans, and other craft diddies from all over the house to keep it neatly hidden away... 

maybe this will pare down on the cleaning frenzy (coupled with my look of death) that I so often experience right before company comes over.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

Mine is already off to an amazing start, as my little brother (well, not so little anymore!) just got engaged yesterday~! Sigh, the days of playing Power Rangers are no more... ;)

I'm linking up here (: