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Hey babes!
Oh my goodness, how I have loved refinishing furniture for my new studio space! I have done several pieces so far including my Lisa-Frank inspired zebra print chair as well as a yellow china cabinet. All my pieces so far not only speak to my love of color, texture, and my personal style, but they are also totally functional which is GREAT because I need to stay organized for my different campaigns and my Creative CommUNITY projects.
When I saw this dresser for sale on Facebook Marketplace, I knew I needed it. As soon as I picked it up, my head started to swirl with ideas on how I could refinish it and make it focal and functional center point for my new studio.
And like with my Lisa Frank-inspired studio chair, I knew I wanted to use my new spray paints I had gotten from Colorshot. Just like me, the colors I picked up are bright, bold, and beautiful. I knew I wanted to create a focal piece that was all of those things, and after a quick survey of what I had in stock (and knowing I was going to place this piece next to other pieces that were a solid color), I decided to go for an ombre style.
Bright and Bold Ombre Dresser Tutorial
The first thing I did once I got the piece home was remove the hardware. I took off all the hardware pieces and cleaned them using baking soda, Dawn dish soap, and salt. Using a clean toothbrush, I scrubbed all the hardware pieces down until I felt they were clean enough. I rinsed them in warm water and set them aside to be painted in between coats of my spray paint.
Once the hardware was off, I could clean the actual dresser. I wiped it down with warm water and soap, and dried it with a clean cloth. Usually I sand pieces before I refinish them, but I didn't need to with this piece. I planned to just prime it and then use my Colorshot spray paints to create an ombre look.
After the dresser was clean, I was ready to prime it. I used 4 cans of Colorshot White Primer to prime the dresser. I allowed it to dry between each coat, and then left it over night to dry completely.
Then came the fun part! It was time to create my ombre look and set the base. I started with the darker colors on the bottom and then worked my way up to lighter colors on the top.
The top of the dresser (the flat part) is where I wanted the eye to be drawn. In order to do this I used 3 different colors to create an ombre from darkest color on the outside to lighter color in the middle. This is just a little artistic trick you can use to bring your eye to a certain focal point. And it came out perfectly!
I'm so in love with this piece and it is honestly one of my favorite pieces in my whole studio. Read on below to see exactly how I did it and the materials I used
The How-To for My Bright and Bold Ombre Dresser
Materials:
Vintage dresser found on Facebook Marketplace
For cleaning hardware:
Baking soda
Salt
For cleaning dresser:
Warm water
Clean cloth to dry
Colorshot Spray paints in:
I completed this project outside because of the strong fumes of spray paint. I recommend doing the same!
The How To:
I started by first removing the hardware and cleaning the piece. To clean the hardware I mixed Dawn dish soap, baking soda, and salt. Then I scrubbed, scrubbed, scrubbed until each piece was as clean as I needed. For the actual dresser, I simply wiped it down with water and Dawn, and then dried it with a clean rag.
Once it was clean, I was ready to prime. I used 4 cans of Colorshot White Primer all over the piece. I allowed the primer to dry in between coats and then allowed it to completely dry overnight.
Once the primer was set, I was ready to start the ombre and set the base. I used Treasure Chest on the legs and braces of the piece, and then I started with the bottom of the dresser using Wine Stain. I used long sweeping motions across the piece. This is important because you don't want any spots that are heavy and you don't want to cause drips from one color to another.
As I worked my way up using the different colors, I continued the long sweeping motions and allowed each color change to slightly overlap one another to create the ombre affect.
The order of colors I used is listed above, starting with Wine Stain and ending at Emoji.
Once I got to the top of the dresser I knew I wanted to do something to create a focal point. So I started with Cosmo and worked my way slowly into the middle with Summer Pedicure.
I did two coats of the colors, and allowed the first coat to dry completely overnight before starting on the next one.
After the second coat had dried, I applied the Clear Sealant all over the piece.
In between the coats of the dresser being painted, I painted the hardware with First Million. After those were sealed and dried, I put them back on the dresser.
And that's it! This ombre dresser was such a fun piece to make and it really brings together that area of my studio. It is a great functional piece that I can use to organize and store materials but it also is just SO DANG PRETTY.
Let me know what you think in the comments below!
