Rustic five-drawer chest

How Was It Done?

Complete Restoration of a Blue Dresser:

1. We cleaned the piece with water and a little soap.

2. We sanded it to completely remove the varnish using an orbital sander and hand sanding. We also used paint stripper.

3. We treated the piece for woodworm. This did not take long as there was not much of it.

4. We filled the woodworm holes with wood filler.

5. We removed the base, which was in very poor condition, and built a new one using plywood.

6. Next, we applied wood stain to slightly darken the wood, leaving the sides of the piece unstained.

7. We applied primer to the sides of the chest and painted them blue.

8. We followed the same process for the drawers.

9. We painted the drawer fronts, and slightly along the sides, in the same shade of blue.

10. We lined the drawers with floral paper.

11. We replaced the original knobs with more modern ones.