Ombre Painted Dresser

It was so fitting that, as I was working on this project in my garage, I turned around and spied this beautiful sunset: 
 
The photo doesn't do it justice, but that was exactly the feeling I wanted to evoke with this ombre paint job.
 
Step 1: Find a piece of furniture that's long overdue for a pick-me-up. For me, it's this sad veneer-covered dresser that lives at the crux of our entryway, living room, kitchen, and dining room. Poor thing.
 
 
Step 2: Remove hardware and drawers. Clean.
 
 
Step 3: To avoid this frustration, use the best-ever Zinsser primer (no sanding required, which is good for veneer and, let's be honest, for anything. Who likes to sand, anyway?)...

 
 ...And prime with a foam roller. Make sure you're ventilated; it's oil-based.

 
Step 4: Sand primer with medium-fine sandpaper. (I think mine was 220.) Prime again. Sand again. 


Step 5: Paint base color. I did one coat over the entire piece using my main color (Persimmon Red, by Martha Stewart). I then did two more coats of this color on just the top tier, sanding between each coat. I painted about an inch or two below where I wanted the tier to end.
 
Step 6: I mixed in a little white into my roller pan (not a lot. I'd be adding more later, and I didn't want to go too light too fast.) with the main color. A rough estimate would be 2/3 regular color to 1/3 white. Using a foam roller, I did the next tier, overlapping the bottom of the first tier's paint.

 
Step 7: When the 2nd tier was dry, I mixed in some more white with what was in the roller pan (again, about 2/3 roller pan color and 1/3 white). Mix it well! You don't want random dark or light stripes going through the middle of your tiers. I then used a foam roller to paint the next tier.
 
Repeat Step 7 for as many ombre tiers as you have.
 
(Note: Because I wanted the overall effect to mimic the sunset inspiration photo above, I did not measure or do harsh divides between the tiers of color. I wanted a loose, almost cloud-like flow from one tier to the next. You could measure and tape these off if you wanted a different look.)

 
My husband, keeping me company in the garage while I worked on this, complimented, "You wouldn't even know that this is some Wal-Mart find."
 
To which I replied, "I know! That's the whole point." And it is, isn't it? Putting our own unique stamp on stuff. I love that.
 
Anyway. I did two coats of polyurethane, spray painted the knobs, and let it all dry (which, for me, is usually the hardest step).
 

 
 So, I'm interested: Are you a Yay or Nay on ombre? For my part, I couldn't love this transformation more.
 
Aww, this project was featured here and here!
http://www.findingfabulousblog.com/  
 
{shared 36th Avenuehereherehereherehereherehere, herehereherehereherehereherehereherehereherehereherehere, herehere, & here}

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22 comments:

  1. adorab! i was thinking about doing that to an old dresser i have sitting around..but i'm not brave enough to do the whole thing...just diff shades for the drawers. you lost me on the 2/3 math stuff. yikes. i love it. great knobs too. just painted gold?

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    1. I've seen ombre drawers done, too, and I love the look. If this had more than 2 drawers, I may have gone that route as well.

      With the 2/3 ratio, basically I took original Color (say, 1 cup) and mixed in 0.5 cup white, for a total of 1.5 cups of New Color A. (Since 1 cup of the total 1.5 cups are original Color, that's 2/3.) After I used that New Color A (on the top drawer & stripe), I had about 1 cup left, so I mixed in another 0.5 cup white for a total of 1.5 cups New Color B. And so on.

      Does that make it way more confusing? Probably.

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  2. Replies
    1. Clever AND stunning? It must be a good day... :) Thanks, Michele.

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  3. Thanks, Mandy! Super nice of you & Ashley to include me.

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  4. Beautiful and I love the color.

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    1. Thanks Marla! (Or Steve.) I have the hardest time pinning down a color from the scads of paint chips at the store, but every once in a while I feel like I choose the right one. This is one of those occasions. :)

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  5. Beautiful makeover! I love the layered colours!

    Thanks for linking to a Round Tuit!
    Hope you have a fabulous week!
    Jill @ Creating my way to Success
    http://www.jembellish.blogspot.com/

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    Replies
    1. Super nice of you, Jill. I'm a sucker for ombre, what can I say.

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  6. I LOVE it! What a great color! The ombre effect is beautiful, you did a wonderful job!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you thank you! You know, I don't have much else in the coral scheme going on around my house, which made me hesitate slightly in going that route. But then I thought, "if I don't have anything coral, it's time to change that!"

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  7. huge yay on ombre here! And you did a lovely job! I love coral...I maybe be a bit obsessed even. Pinning this.

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    Replies
    1. Obsession isn't necessarily a bad thing. Like you with coral, and me with dark chocolate-covered blueberries. Oh my. So obsess-worthy.

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  8. Loving ombre and I love your color choice. I'm featuring it in the PoPP Spotlight. Thanks for linking up.

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    Replies
    1. Awww, *blush* Thank you Maryann! I'm headed over to check it out. Have a wonderful day!

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  9. I love love love it too. Nothing brings happiness into a room like a cheerfully painted piece of furniture. Thanks so much for sharing this great piece with BeColorful's Motivated Monday this week. I hope you will be returning. Love your style.
    p

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    Replies
    1. "Cheerfully painted piece of furniture." Well said. I agree with you. And who doesn't need more cheeriness in life? Thanks!

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  10. Very pretty. I haven't done an ombre piece yet. :) Yours is lovely!

    gail

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Gail. I'd highly recommend doing an ombre piece of some sort. It will make you happy. :)

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  11. How did you get the drawer glides removed from the top drawer space without having to dismantle the whole dresser? I am thinking about doing something similar, to make room for a blu-ray player and use the top of my BR dresser for a television.

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    Replies
    1. This piece actually had an opening in the top slot originally. Just two drawers. Sorry I'm no help. Good luck with yours, Gina! I'd love to see it when you get it done.

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  12. Hi, I featured this Revamped Dresser over on my blog Finding Fabulous! It's simply Awesome :)

    ReplyDelete

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