I LOVE a good furniture flip. There are few things as satisfying as rescuing a dilapidated piece of furniture and transforming it into a showstopper. Saving furniture from landfills is not only cost-effective and eco-friendly, but it’s also a great opportunity to create a piece that only exists in your home.
This Facebook Marketplace dresser was in desperate need of some TLC, both aesthetically and structurally. The poor thing was suffering from a major case of boredom along with having drawer pulls that needed repairs and chips in the finish. I saw potential in the beautiful curves and trim details and decided to take on the rescue mission.
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One of my favorite additions is the “Rebel’s Herringbone” top that I installed. The top trim was in such bad shape that I had to remove it, so I replaced it with a pattern that I coined “Rebel’s Herringbone” which is basically the herringbone pattern but instead of same-width boards, three different width boards are used to create more visual interest.
I wanted this particular piece to have rustic, shabby chic, boho, and woodland elements. The hardware was a fantastic way to tie in the rustic and boho elements. I used barn wood cutoffs to anchor the hardware and bronze nail heads to attach them to the drawer fronts. I love how they add so much character to the piece.
I painted the base of the dresser with a medium brown homemade Plaster of Paris chalk paint (recipe here) that would show through when I distressed the mint homemade Calcium Carbonate chalk paint. Once I had the dresser painted, I got to work on the Rebel’s Herringbone top.
I used three different width boards (1×8, 1×4, 1×2) and cut them all to 10″. Then I marked a center line on the dresser top. I used my speed square to make a line from the top corner down 45 degrees, then lined both of those lines with the centerline on the dresser top.
I painted the boards different colors to further accentuate the pattern. Once the boards were laid out, I used Liquid Nails and 1 1/2 brad nails to attach the boards to the dresser top.
Loving the way that the three colors bring out the Rebel’s Herringbone pattern.
Once the boards were nailed and glued, I clamped a straightedge to the top and used my circular saw to trim off the excess.
I went back and sanded the boards with 120 grit to tone down the colors and to create a more rustic look.
I used 1×2 boards to make a border around the sides and to hide the end grain. I also used trim painted in mint then glazed in gold to accent the border. The bronze nailheads added the final touch to the top.
After all the repairing, painting, constructing and transforming, I stepped back and smiled. This dresser is truly one-of-a-kind.
