While I was working on the boys’ bedroom makeover a few weeks ago, I decided I wanted a new dresser for the boys to share. Originally, we had two dressers in the bedroom, but once we built the loft bed there wasn’t going to be enough room for two dressers. I wanted one large dresser to take the place of the two old ones. So I started hunting at all the thrift stores. I think the search is one of my favorite parts of doing a dresser makeover, it’s so satisfying when you find exactly what you’re looking for at a great price.

Before

I spent about three weeks dropping in at all my favorite second hand stores until I found “the one”. I wanted a tallboy dresser that was in good condition, but not too good that I didn’t feel bad about painting over it. Then I found this beautiful mid-century walnut veneer dresser that fit all my criteria! I’m going to show you how I used two complementing shades of Country Chic clay based paint and my new HomeRight paint sprayer and spray tent to give this dresser a complete makeover.

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I received free product in exchange for this post, but all opinions are my own. This post also contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you purchase through my links

Step 1: Prep and Sand

This dresser was in really good condition, but it did have a few places on the veneer that were starting to peel. I filled these areas in with some Bondo putty, but you could also use drywall mud. Once the filler is dry, sand the entire dresser lightly with 60 or 80 grit paper to scuff up the surface. Then vacuum and wipe down the dresser to remove all the dust.

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Step 2: Prime

I like to prime my furniture pieces, especially if I’m starting with a dark wood. I used a grey tinted primer that I already had and used the HomeRight Super Finish Max HVLP paint sprayer to do a light coat. Let the primer dry for about four hours, then lightly sand with 120 grit sandpaper.

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Step 3: Two coats of paint

For this dresser I used Country Chic Cobblestone clay based paint. This is a dark grey paint that has a soft matte finish.

I don’t have my own workshop, and the garage is usually messy and dusty from all the other projects we have on the go. But HomeRight was kind enough to send me a spray tent so I was able to set up a makeshift working area in our basement.

I thinned out the Country Chic Cobblestone paint with a bit of water to make sure I got a smooth and even finish. This is actually a really easy tool to use. I’ve never used a paint sprayer before, and I ended up with a great result. Plus, it’s easy to clean!

One thing to note is that when you use a paint sprayer, it uses a little more paint than when you roll it on. Normally a jar of chalk paint would no problem cover this dresser, but because I used the sprayer there was more overspray and paint waste. I ran out of the Cobblestone paint when I was nearly finished. So I decided to mix another color of Country Chic paint, Lazy Linen, with the remainder of the Cobblestone color. I painted just the drawer fronts with the lighter grey color mix. I think it was a happy accident because I really like how the two-toned dresser turned out.

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Mid-century tallboy dresser makeover with Country Chic paint

I added a colorful eclectic gallery wall above the dresser, some small book ledges beside the dresser that matched the desk, and of course added a few Ottawa Senators pieces. If you want to see the rest of the boys bedroom makeover and the other projects we did, check out the reveal here.