Repurposed Dresser!

We found this dresser when we moved in, right next to the dumpster. It was ugly but our apartment was so lacking in storage that we grabbed it and wiped it down. At first we used it for some dishes while we figured out how to arrange the kitchen, just sticking the dishes in the drawers. The drawers were hard to open and awkward in our dining room. Not to mention, one of the top drawers was missing.  Here it is in the background, I didn't take very good before pictures.

So, I decided this dresser needed a new function. I took out the drawers, removed the hardware, and stacked the drawers up on top of the base to serve as extra shelves. The paint (white, yellow and teal) are my previous attempts to make it look better. I didn't like it once I started, so rather than waste time and paint, it sat like this for about 4 months. Sad, I know.

I was having a really hard time committing to a color, but I would just sit on my couch and stare at the ugly wood and beige paint and just vacillate between colors. Blue? Teal? Green? Yellow? I was feeling noncommittal. I knew it would be a lot of work and some money! I have neither one to waste.

I finally had a Home Depot store credit from a return so I decided I would commit to a color scheme for the whole living room. It's red, teal, white, and gray, with a few splashes of yellow. So I decided to go with red for the shelves. I LOVE it. It took me about three days. I made some home-made chalk paint by adding 1/3 cup plaster of paris and 1/3 cup water to 1 cup of my flat, interior, "Firecracker" Behr Premium paint. It's a very smooth, chalky finish and I prefer it to gloss. Here's an "after" shot, before I replaced the books and toys.

I hope to get some big baskets that fit into the toy shelves to hide the toys, or maybe put a curtain across the front. For now this will do! I love them and the red really adds some warmth to my house, and it feels more like a living room and less like a warehouse. :)