decor: dresser rehab

Last year, I found a nice little dresser on Freecycle, but it looks kind of sad in this picture (which was from the original owner's online posting):

But I loved those deco-looking wooden knobs and the deco-ish flair at the bottom. So Tony picked the dresser up for me, and it eventually found its way to the corner of our dining room, where it's going to provide some much-needed storage. The dresser needed a little TLC, and a couple of weeks ago, Tony and I finally got around to it.

First of all, structurally, the dresser needed some screws and wood glue to make it more sturdy.

Next we had to address the musty smell, which you find in old furniture. I gave it a good cleaning, then wiped down the whole thing with diluted white vinegar. The dresser sat in the sun for a few days to air it out, and then I absorbed some of the lingering mustiness with bowls of baking soda, bowls of coffee grounds, containers of kitty litter, and bars of soap -- basically everything the Internet said to do. I threw the kitchen sink at it. And finally last weekend, Tony put two coats of primer in the drawers to seal in whatever was left. And then I lined the drawers with contact paper. So at this point, I have a dresser that definitely does not smell musty, but there's a faint odor of primer. I'll have to let it sit for a few more days, maybe put the drawers back in the sun this weekend if the weather's nice, before I make a final verdict on whether I was successful in achieving a 100-percent odorless dresser.

And finally, the dresser got some cosmetic makeovers. it originally was a dull cream color. So I freshened it up with bright white paint. When the whole dresser was monotone, the cool knobs blended in, so I painted them gold to make them pop.

Here it is!

A close-up of a handle:

You can see the fourth drawer has got some issues. As I was fixing the dresser up, I came to the realization that I'm never going to make it into an heirloom-quality piece of furniture. The dresser looks cool, but it wasn't constructed to last. So I'm thinking of this dresser like I think of Ikea furniture ... enjoy it now because it may not survive the next move.

As soon as I get the primer smell out of the dresser, I have piles of stuff waiting to fill those drawers. (Ahem, Halloween costumes.)

And it's also where I've been keeping my old typewriter.

Here's a wide shot to see how the dresser fits into the corner of the dining room: