The Vanderveen House

Tips from accidental real estate investors

  • Start Here
    • About Us
    • Policies and Contact
  • Fix and Flip Houses
    • 1st House: Run down bungalow
    • 2nd House: New build
    • Flip House
    • 3rd house: Outdated split level
  • Buy and hold properties
    • 4th house: New build raised bungalow
    • Construction schedule & budget worksheet
    • Rental House
    • Cabin in the Woods
  • DIY Projects
    • Craft Ideas
    • Furniture Makeovers
    • Woodworking
    • Outdoor Ideas
    • Gardening
Home » DIY Projects » Furniture Makeovers » Before and After: DIY Curbside French Provincial Dresser Makeover

DIY Projects Furniture Makeovers

Before and After: DIY Curbside French Provincial Dresser Makeover

A couple months ago I found this beat up and dirty french provincial dresser on the side of the road. I was having a bad day, I don’t remember why, but I just remember thinking that I needed some kind of “win” to get me back on track. Then I found this lovely little dresser on the side of the road, and I felt that spark of excitement. With the van full of kids I managed to stuff this dresser in the back and happily take it home.  With a little bit of paint and stain I knew I could complete an amazing french provincial dresser makeover.

*This post contains affiliate links, which means I may get a commission if your purchase through these links*

Before: French provincial dresser makeover

This dresser sat in the basement for a while, but I finally got around to refinishing it a few weeks ago. It was pretty dirty, but I saw a lot of potential. The top of the dresser had a lot of chipping paint, but that’s an easy enough fix.

curbside french provincial dresser makeover

curbside dresser makeover

 

Refinish the top of the dresser

To refinish the top, first I sanded off all the old paint using my palm sander to reveal the bare wood. I usually start off with 60 grit sandpaper, and do several different grits ending at 180. This gives a nice smooth surface for staining and finishing.

vintage french provincial dresser makeover

I conditioned the wood using Minwax pre-stain wood conditioner. Next I stained the top using my favorite, Minwax Jacobean stain. I applied it in a circular motion using a white rag, then wiped off any excess with the same rag. I finished off the top with several coats of high gloss spray can polyurethane to give a beautiful finish.

minwax jacobean stain


Painting and distressing the dresser

For the rest of the dresser I used a mix of General Finishes milk paint, which I also used for this dresser makeover for the girls’ bedroom. This paint is not like other milk paints in that it doesn’t chip and peel. It’s a water-based paint that self levels and dries very hard, but you can also sand and distress it to give it a farmhouse feel. And another bonus, it’s very durable so you don’t need to seal it.

light blue french provincial dresser

For this dresser I did about a 1:1 mixture of Persian Blue and Snow White. Actually, I had planned to paint it white, but after two coats I just didn’t love how it was looking. So I changed my mind and did two coats of light blue over top.warm brown dresser top

To paint the dresser I used a regular paintbrush, and then smoothed out any brush strokes with a foam roller.  I also sand with 220 grit sandpaper in between each coat to get rid of any flaws.

vintage french provincial dresser makeover with general finished milk paint


I like to very lightly distress the paint by using 220 grit sandpaper and knocking off a bit of the paint on the corners and high points. It really brings out the details and accentuates all the curves, especially with the white paint peeping through.

general finishes milk paint dresser

I updated the original hardware by spray painting them with Rust-oleum oil rubbed bronze spray paint.

vintage french provincial dresser hardware

After: French provincial dresser makeover

The dark hardware pops so nicely against the blue paint. I absolutely love this style of dresser lately, the curves and details of a french provincial dresser are so beautiful. What do you think of this french provincial dresser makeover? Have you ever used general finishes milk paint for your furniture flips?

general finishes light blue dresser

custom mix of general finishes milk paint, persian blue and snow white

 

 


6 Comments

Previous Post: « How to grow a wildflower garden
Next Post: Five Tips For Designing Your Dream Kitchen »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Habiba says

    September 13, 2017 at 4:17 am

    I admire how much love you gave this piece of furniture!!! I mostly skip a lot of steps, but as I really like the stained top of this beauty, I’ll make notes for my next project!!! Also good luck with this enjoyable side business!

    Reply
    • jessvanderveen@gmail.com says

      September 13, 2017 at 5:11 pm

      Thanks Habiba!

      Reply
  2. Yami says

    September 13, 2017 at 12:17 pm

    It turned out lovely! I haven’t used milk paint yet, but now I really want to try. That finish looks so smooth. I love it!

    Reply
    • jessvanderveen@gmail.com says

      September 13, 2017 at 5:12 pm

      It is very smooth! I’m quite impressed with this paint

      Reply
  3. Ola Broom says

    September 13, 2017 at 6:37 pm

    What a wonderful job you did on this dresser Jessica! And the photos show it off so nicely.

    Reply
    • jessvanderveen@gmail.com says

      September 13, 2017 at 6:42 pm

      Thanks so much Ola!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Welcome! We are Tony and Jessica Vanderveen, and are accidental real estate investors in Ontario. Find out how you too can create long term wealth, while maintaining your work life balance. Find out more...

Looking for something?

Categories

  • Buy and hold real estate investing properties
    • 4th House: Raised Bungalow Build
    • Cabin Vacation Rental
    • Rental House
  • DIY Projects
    • Craft Ideas
    • Furniture Makeovers
    • Gardening
    • Outdoor Ideas
    • Woodworking
  • Fix and Flip Houses
    • First House
    • Flip House
    • Second House
    • Third House
  • Real Estate Investing Tips

Explore the Archives

Footer

You might also like

Not Your Typical Barnboard Clock

how to make a farmhouse clock from a wood cable reel

How to make a DIY farmhouse clock

How to make a DIY vegetable arbor

easy headboard makeover

Master Bedroom Bed Makeover: One Room Challenge Week 4

outdoor play structure makeover using semi-transparent stain

Before and after swing set makeover

Copyright © 2023 · Divine theme by Restored 316

Copyright © 2023 · Divine Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT