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Many thanks to DecoArt for providing the awesome paint for this project! The project and opinions are all my own.
My little guy is growing up so quickly and is ready for his big boy room! He decided he wants an airplane room, which is really strange because he has never shown much of an interest in airplanes. But whatever. It’s all good. Practically every man on my mom’s side of the family is a pilot, so perhaps it’s in his blood.
We recently started getting his gender neutral nursery transitioned over to a pilot’s dream room, but haven’t made much progress other than painting the walls, assembling his bunk beds (and disassembling his crib – waaaah!), and giving his dresser (which was my childhood dresser), an amazing makeover! (UPDATE: the room is finished! If you want to see it, please CLICK HERE.)
So yes, this was my lovely dresser that my parents bought me when I was around nine years old. It had different hardware at the time (much more old-school looking in brass and with those weird flourish thingies), but my husband and I switched it out when our daughter was born, and that’s what you see in this photo.
My son’s bunk beds are sort of an ugly wood tone, and one that looks really bad with the color of this dresser. Since we purchased the beds used and for a bargain price, I got over the color pretty quickly. (I figure we saved around $700 by purchasing them used.) And since I’m too lazy to paint bunk beds, I decided to paint the dresser in an effort to make his furniture not look so awful together.
Since we’re going with a vintage aviation look in the room, I knew I wanted to do a gray color on the dresser. I checked out DecoArt’s line of Americana Decor Chalky Finish paints and decided to mix two of their grays — Yesteryear and Relic — to create my own hybrid color. 
They mixed up easily, and after I’d done my prep work (which was literally just wiping down the dresser to remove dust), I applied my first coat. I used a small roller for the top and sides, and a 1″ brush for the rest of the piece. The paint applied SO smoothly and easily, and it dried really quickly, which is a plus when working with little kids in the vicinity. (I would have taken all the drawers out to paint, but they wouldn’t come out!)
I was able to apply my second coat almost immediately, and was totally pleased that the coverage was fabulous! Two coats, and 16 oz. of paint, was all it took for this entire piece of dark furniture!
After I was sure that the paint was totally dry, I applied a protective topcoat of SC Johnson Paste Wax, using my large natural bristle brush. (DecoArt has a line of finishing waxes, too, but since I already had finishing wax at home, I didn’t want to be greedy and ask them to send me theirs. If it’s anywhere near the quality of their paint, I am sure it’s amazing.) I let that dry to a haze, buffed it out, and promptly felt my arms scream in pain from being used in an unusual way. The pain was worth it though, because a wax finish produces such a beautiful, velvety result. I just love the finish.
(Sidenote: this is what was happening while I was waxing. My kids were systematically emptying the bookshelf of every.single.book.they.own and jumping in the pile. Nutcases.) 
A couple of days later, I got out my Briwax Dark Wax and got to “vintageizing” (made up word) the dresser. I wanted to give it some depth and character, so I streaked on the wax with a lint free cloth. I was a little overzealous though and got some MAJOR streaks and mistakes (on the dresser and on myself).
Yikes. Pretty awful. But it was all fine because I grabbed my clear paste wax, put a little on a rag, and went over the spots where I’d applied too much dark wax. The dark wax came right off and my mistakes vanished. Phew!
Now the finished piece looks like this with its new color and new hardware! 
I can’t believe the difference! It’s so much better for a boy now (in my opinion), and I think it helps set the stage for the vintage aviation room to come!
I couldn’t be happier with the results. Let’s just hope the rest of the room turns out as well as this dresser!
– Bre
To see where I’m sharing this project, please click here.
I think it came out really well. I think the “cup” drawer pulls make a HUGE difference as well. I liked the ones you had used before, but these are really modern. I so admire the way you just dive in and get it done!!!
It looks great! I really love the new hardware!!
Loooove this, Bre!! So gorgeous!! The color is totally perfect. And the wax totally makes it look so vintage! A fab makeover, I’m sure your son will love it! Well, maybe not, but at least YOU can enjoy it! 🙂
Bre I love this! It turned out awesome and is the perfect neutral piece for your little guy’s room 🙂 Love the dark wax and your choice of hardware. Also, my Dad is pilot and my brother recently got his pilot’s license. I grew up surrounded by airplane decor!
Your paint finish is beautiful. How will you ever be able to change paint colors with the wax finish on top? I love the finish it leaves, but can’t imagine getting another coat of paint on that wax finish.
Do you know if this process would work on formica cabinets
I love the color! It’s amazing what paint and new hardware can do for a piece. Your little ones do exactly what mine does when I’m in the middle of a project- destroy the house! Haha
haha! Love the book-pile!! And I love the dresser too! Those drawer pulls really finishes it off…..Wishing you a merry Christmas 🙂
xox, Crystelle
CrystelleBoutique
I love the color! Its so wonderful what paint can do!
Wow! I have looked at that paint several times wondering how well it worked….I’m headed to the store for some tomorrow after seeing how great your dresser turned out!
Hi Bre,
The dtesser looks fantastic! Great job! I did want to ask a question though….my understanding was that latex based paint – which chalk paint is – cannot adhere to a surface which has previously been sealed. I would have lightly sanded the dresser pror to painting. Is the paint adhering properly without any issues? I don’t understand why no prep was required over the original finish?
Hi Bre! The dresser looks great! love it… Just wanted to say that you seem like such a wonderful Lady. Be Blessed. Merry “CHRIST”mas!
Hi Bre! I wanted to let you know that I included this fantastic dresser in my features yesterday at our Your Turn to Shine party. You did a beautiful job on it!
That is stunning! I really need to get on this chalk paint and wax kick–they always turn out so pretty 🙂
Hi Bre, I love the way this piece came out. I have a bedroom set similar to this one that I want to paint but I have no clue on how to do it. Could you be kindly enough to tell me what kind of paint you used and where can I get it.. Steps by steps will be helpful to.
You are an inspiration,
Blessings
Carmen
Love the look! I am going to try on my cheap particle board cabinet. However, I wanted to ask where you got your pull handles from?
Love your dresser!!! That’s the pulls I was looking for! Thank you for the link to amazon!! Very nice combination of paint. It’s my second favorite paint after Annie Sloan’s:)
Dresser is fab! I have a loooong and very heavy dresser that was there when we purchased the house. Did you do your refurbish in the house? We’d never get it out without breaking backs. What is the safety end of having lungs that work if I do it in the bedroom where it sits now? Thanks in advance!
All I can say is OMG I love it !!!!! as the other comments I’ve been wanting to do this BUT didn’t know how. My question is do you need to do any thing to the wood before I repaint.? I too have a set that looks like this maybe a little darker. Do I need to take the varnish off before I repaint it using the chalky paint? I want to use a off white color with a darker stain or varnish to give it the look as you did. And did I say how much I LOVE LOVE… Read more »
Hi! I tried this kind of chalk paint today in vintage color. My problem was, I got some brush marks. How were you able to achieve the smooth finish???
How much paint did you have to purchase for a dresser that size. Did you mix 50/50 on the two colors or what. Thank you.
Doug
I love how it came out. I too use this paint. I painted my step-daughters kitchen cabinets in the Relic you mixed with. My husband couldn’t believe how easy it went on. But I sealed with a spray poly since it was her kitchen. For the dark grey it gave a nice shine and reflects the limited light she get in the kitchen.
I bet there is a lot of life left in this dresser.
I love this!! We are in the process of making one big boy room for my boys to share and have an old dresser that I want to paint to make it “fit” better. I want more of a navy blue color but don’t see anything along those lines when I clicked on the link. do you have any suggestions?