Adding Texture To A Mid-Century Modern Dresser With Something Odd
The value of texture
A while ago at Goodwill, I found an ice cream box of wood tiles for eight dollars. Even though they were fluorescent, I knew they had potential. I had a feeling I could use them in some creative way for a future furniture upgrade.
Playing with texture is an inventive way to create depth in a piece of furniture. So, that was the idea here. For our canvas, we found a mid-century modern dresser on Facebook Marketplace for $75 dollars. This was a steal. In our experience, MCM styles tend to be highly successful for furniture flipping.
Also, the clean lines of this dresser would work well for my plan. See what we came up with this time by reading along or watching step-by-step in the video above.
Disclaimer:
This blog contains affiliate links. I will receive a commission for items purchased through these links at no extra cost to you. I appreciate your support. Please read all labels and follow all manufacturer safety recommendations when working with paints, stains, and other equipment, and wear + use appropriate personal protection equipment. Readers should attempt these projects at their own risk.
Products that made this possible:
RZ MASK [code: FFT10 for 10% off]
Prepping the dresser
As always, the first step is to clean your piece of furniture. I used Dixie Belle's White Lightning Cleaner. Mix a couple of tablespoons of White Lightning granules into a spray bottle with warm water. Then, spray and wipe everything down. It’s essential for a professional finish to start with a clean surface. Additionally, wipe down the piece with water to remove any remaining cleaner residue.
Wipe the drawer fronts clean before sanding and painting.
Usually, an important step in prep is removing the old hardware. Lucky for us, there wasn’t any hardware on this piece. 🙂
Next, Remove the drawers and set them to the side. This is a great time to wipe down the insides and outsides of the drawers as well as the inside of the dresser.
FFT Hot Tip!
When removing drawers from a piece of furniture with multiple drawers, do this. Label each drawer so you know where it fits best. I recommend taking the time for this step because not all drawers will be the same exact size.
You can label your drawers by…
Writing on the bottom or inside of each with a sharpie or pencil
Placing a piece of paper in each drawer with the drawer placement on the sheet
Arranging the drawers in a pattern that makes it clear to you which goes where
Label each drawer in a place that won’t be seen during general use.
Keep in mind that if your drawers are having trouble fitting, they may be in the wrong spot to start. If that’s the case for a piece you come across, try rearranging the drawers and see if that solves the issue.
Sanding
Scuff sand your piece everywhere you’ll be painting.
Because this dresser’s surface had a laminate veneer, I needed to scuff sand the whole piece. Laminate surfaces are so smooth there is nothing to which the paint can adhere. Sanding helps create some tooth on the surface, giving the paint somewhere to hold on.
I used the Cordless Ryobi Orbital Sander and 120-grit sandpaper. When sanding, don’t forget to mask up and protect your lungs. If you’re looking for a proper mask, the RZ MASK [code: FFT10 for 10% off] is my tried and true.
After sanding, wipe down the surface to remove any dust particles that you don’t want to end up in your finish.
Repair
Apply the wood filler with a scraper or wooden popsicle stick.
There were a few spots on this dresser where the edge banding veneer was peeling or missing completely. Some of these spots were previously repaired but it wasn’t as well-finished as I like. In these places, I removed the banding and came in with Dixie Belle's Mud Wood Filler.
The Dixie Mud is a wood filler that comes in black, white, and brown. However, if you’re painting your furniture, it may not matter what color you use.
What’s also great about this particular wood filler is it dries super fast. Let the wood filler dry before sanding it flush with the rest of the wood.
Playing with tiles
Now, the fun part. I started by laying out potential patterns on the drawer front. After playing around, I decided on a staggering, vertical tile pattern. Then, I used wood glue to attach the tiles to the fronts of the drawers. Also, I opted to only cover the top two drawers with these tiles instead of all six.
I used wood glue to adhere the tiles to the drawer fronts.
This is where things got tricky.
There was about a quarter-inch overhang on one side of each tiled drawer front. First, I tried to use a skill saw to chop off this excess tile but the tile flung off! Another reason to wear safety goggles when working with a saw. ;)
Finally, I realized that the wood glue wasn’t dry enough for the tiles to withstand so much applied force. I reglued the end row and waited it out. Once properly dried, I used a multi-tool to cut off the extra tile, and it worked!
FFT Tip: Flipping furniture can test your patience, especially when things don’t go exactly your way. Stay patient with the process and be gentle with yourself when things get difficult.
After cutting the tile, I scuff sanded these two drawers down to prepare for paint. Yes, I’m covering the neon-colored tiles. 😂
Priming + Painting
Before painting the drawers, I prepped them by using this tape + plastic combination to protect the places where I didn’t want paint or primer. This step is tedious but well worth it because the end result will have a cleaner finish. It’ll be obvious to your buyer that you cared enough to pay attention. Plus, there’s something ultra-satisfying about the clean lines of a properly taped paint edge.
For this flip, I took the extra step of priming with Dixie Belle's Gray BOSS Primer to ensure there wouldn’t be any wood tannin bleedthrough. It’s a stain-blocking, water-based primer and an easy way to protect the wood.
Since I was spraying paint, I set up my Wagner Spray Tent and went to town with the Wagner FlexiO 5000.
Check your flow pattern. I noticed there was skipping in my pattern when I first poured the primer. This usually meant my paint was too thick. I added a little more water to my sprayer and that fixed the problem.
Between coats of priming or painting, I like to take a super fine rad pad by Surf Prep to go over the surface. This removes any debris or the like from living in my paint forever.
Giving these beauties a light sand between coats of paint.
We chose to go bold with Dixie Belle's Midnight Green Silk Paint. The color darkens when it dries, giving you a moody, deep green. I did end up needing three coats because our weather wasn’t great. After the third coat, I brought the drawers and dresser to dry inside where it was warm.
Once everything was dry, it was time for touch-ups. Using a small artist’s brush, I went back over the spots that I wasn’t able to get with my sprayer without causing a mess. Having a brush like this comes in handy for tiny nooks and crannies.
Time for a touch up!
The big reveal
This dresser came out just how I envisioned it, which I was ecstatic about! Textured furniture has been trending for the last few years, as is the mid-century modern style, so we knew this would sell. However, we didn’t know how fast it would go!
We listed this on Facebook Marketplace and the buyer reached out within the first ten minutes! Here’s how we did below.
💰Let’s Talk Numbers💰
Cost: $75
Materials: $35
Sold: $450
Profit: $340
It’s here!
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Let the adventure begin,
-Lauren & Neiman
