Before and After | Stacked Hepplewhite Dresser in Navy

Hi friends! I created this piece and shared it over on Lolly Jane recently and now I’m here to share it with you, too! My computer crashed on me and didn’t work for a week and a half right after I finished taking photos, which meant editing photos and posting had to be put on hold. Worth it, though! And I have to say, I really enjoyed not having to spray a high gloss finish on this one 😉

This Thomasville dresser came off of my local buy-sell-trade Facebook group for pretty inexpensive. Other than some missing molding, the dresser was sturdy and functional, I just needed to give it a new look.

The dresser came with vintage french provincial hardware which had been added at some point. The hardware that would have come with this piece would have been oval pulls, characteristic of hepplewhite style furniture. I knew I wanted to take off the french pulls and add new knobs to update the piece. Changing out hardware is something I do often, like on this 3 drawer dresser, and it’s pretty simple to do while making a huge impact on the style and look of the piece.

I went with a classic navy color for this dresser. The paint color isn’t your typical dark navy, though. I wanted something more greyed out and not too dark I mixed up a custom color using General Finishes “Coastal Blue” and “Queenstown Gray” mixed with some Sherwin Williams “Rainstorm”. After my usual prep of filling old hardware holes, sanding, and cleaning the piece I painted on 3 coats of the navy color. Once the paint dried I used a wet rag and 220 grit sandpaper to distress the molding on the drawers. I kept the distressing to a minimum, but I think it helps accent those details and I love the warm wood peeking through. To protect the paint I used a matte water-based poly. The last step was adding the hardware back on! Hardware can really change the look of a piece, and if you are curious these silver and white print knobs came from World Market. You can find more sources for decorative knobs and pulls here.

My one little surprise with this piece was the drawer liners on the inside. I love the fun constellation print paper with geometric animals. It’s so fun to open up a drawer and have a pretty paper inside. I purchased this paper here, but there are so many fun designs to check on on Spoonflower. Now here’s the full reveal!