DIY Driftwood Dresser Makeover

This is a dresser that my parents-in-law gave to us when we first got married.  THEY had had it since they had first gotten married.  It's a good quality dresser, but it was in need of some updating.  I wanted something that would fit into my room's yellow and grey color scheme, but not so matchy as to paint it solid grey.  No wood stains seemed right to me.  Then I thought of a beachy driftwood finish.  Perfect!  So, I got to work.

Of course I had to start at my favorite website, Pinterest, for some ideas of how to go about this and found this website.  So my technique is based on that.

Supplies:

• sand paper or power sander (recommended*)
• quart of flat grey-brown paint
• quart of flat white paint
• paint brush
• 2 plastic disposable cups
• clear polurethane spray

I chose Granite for my grey-brown base

1. Remove drawers, and sand entire dresser down to bare wood.  Set drawers aside.
Side note: I didn't sand the drawers, and I wish I would have.  The grain of the wood makes this much more realistic.

2. Mix 1 part water to 2 parts grey-brown paint.  Quickly paint over entire dresser, letting the wood grain show through a little.  Allow to dry thoroughly.

3. Mix 1 part water to 2 part grey brown and half fill one of your plastic cups with the mixture.  Add the white paint to your other plastic cup.

4. Dip your brush into the white paint, then the grey mixture.  Wipe the brush off on the inside rim of the grey mixture's cup until it is just damp.

5. Tilt your brush to a 15 degree angle and very softly paint lines from one side to the other.  It's ok if they're not perfectly straight.  Allow to dry.

6. Remove all of the hardware from the drawers.

7.  Use the same two cups from above and repeat step 5 one or two times until the wood looks the way you like.  Remember, every time you dip the paint brush with white paint on it into the grey mixture, the grey mixture gets a little lighter.

8. Repeat steps 2-6 on each of the dresser drawers.  Allow to dry thoroughly.

9. If there is any detail on the drawer, paint it white.  Like I said I didn't sand the drawers, so it took three coats to cover the dark brown wood.

10.  Spray the dresser and the drawers with polyurethane.

11. Put the drawer pulls back onto the dresser.