Most of you know that we are in the midst of adopting a 17 month old little girl. In preparation, I’ve been trying to save as much money as possible and either buy things second-hand or reuse the toys and furniture that we already have in our house. At some point, I had the idea of repainting our dresser and using it in our daughter’s nursery. Our dresser was handed down to me and it has been well-used by us these past 10 years. While the large size of the dresser may be a bit unconventional for a nursery, I love that I can store lots of clothing, diapers and wipes in it AND that it is wide enough for me to use as a changing table.
I’m not a crafty person. So the first thing I did, before tackling this project, was ask my friends on Facebook what chalk paint brands they recommend, if they had any tips and just how hard this project would in fact be. I don’t have a ton of free time so I was worried this project was going to be more than I bargained for!
I received lots of feedback. Some friends told me they spent time sanding the furniture prior to painting. Other friends told me they love chalk paint because it is user friendly. And some even said that they prefer regular paint. Then, my friend Kim from Cocoon Vintage Studio messaged me and said that she would come to my house and help me paint my dresser. And, she introduced me to her favorite brand of Chalk Paint, Dixie Belle Paint Company. I told Kim I wanted to paint my dresser white and she came to my house armed with all of the painting supplies including Dixie Belle Fluff Paint (that is the color white I wanted).
To prepare for this painting adventure, I had to do two things that took a total of 5 minutes. I had to clean my dresser with soap and water (I actually used my Thieves Cleaner to clean it) and then I had to remove the knobs. Easy.
Originally I was going to move my dresser to my garage (or maybe even our lanai) to paint it. But when I learned the paint was fumeless, I decided instead to move it to a large open space in our living room. My husband has painting tarps so we placed the dresser on a tarp.
When my friend arrived, I drilled her again making sure we didn’t need to sand the dresser prior to painting. She reassured me we didn’t need to and within a few minutes we were painting. So, one thing I did learn – the lighter the paint color, the more coats you will need to paint. So, be prepared – if you choose a light color like white, you will have to do multiple coats. (I never would have predicted this.. but remember, I am not a DIY person 😉 ) The other thing I learned is that my dresser’s drawers do not come out (except for the bottom right drawer which is broken). This made painting much more difficult. But it was still doable.
We painted using a regular painter’s paint brush. We watered the chalk paint down with a spray bottle with water occasionally spraying our paint brushes. I would ask my friend (every few minutes) if I was doing okay and she would reaffirm that there was really no way for me to mess this project up.
After we painted 3 coats and the dresser was a solid white, we used very light sandpaper (220) to sand the entire dresser making it nice and smooth to the touch. Then we used black brushes to apply Dixie Belle Clear Coat Satin Finish to the dresser. Once we were done, all I had to do was let the dresser dry!
Let me tell you, I am in awe of how easy this project was! For two people, it took us 3 hours to tackle this project. And it would have gone much quicker if I chose a darker color. I’m also amazed by how far the paint went. I barely used any paint. The 32 oz containers you see in the picture above would cover LOTS of furniture. I’m already thinking about my next project. I purchased a beat up Eddie Bauer high chair and I’m thinking about painting it in Dixie Belle’s “Limeade.” My kitchen is a mixture of light cabinets and dark cabinets and I think the fun yellow/green color would go great!
What do you think of my finished product?
Before & After Shots
And now for the giveaway! One reader will win a $150 Dixie Belle Paint Voucher!
To enter, fill in the rafflecopter giveaway form below! As a mandatory form of entry, make sure you follow the first entry task (leave a comment on this blog post with your favorite Dixie Belle Paint Color). Then, for additional entries, complete the additional tasks. This giveaway goes through Saturday, April 23rd at 11:59 pm EST.
This post and giveaway is sponsored by Dixie Belle Paint. As always, all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.
Thanks for coming to Addicted to Saving! Here’s a little bit about me so you can know who’s behind all these posts!
My name is Liza and I began my money-saving journey in the Spring of 2009 as a way to stretch a limited household income. I had lost my job and my hubby was self-employed. I launched Addicted to Saving in November of 2009 and it has grown by leaps and bounds. Since then, my hubby and I have struggled with the ups and downs of two failed adoptions and are now LOVING being parents to our little man Asher who we brought home from Ethiopia in August of 2013. I feel incredibly blessed to be able to help you save money. My goal is that you will have FUN and become empowered to save more and more money each week..
cute!
How did you water down the chalk paint? Would love to know how to make it last longer, it’s so pricey!
Not all chalk paint work this way, but Dixie Belle does. If you use a spray bottle with water and keep your brush moist, the paint will last longer. An 8 oz jar should cover two nightstands and another small piece of furniture. Feel free to send me questions. I’m more than happy to help!
Kim
Love it
Beautiful. Thanks for the opportunity to try this paint
Wow! It looks great. You did a great job.
Love it. I want to repainted our dining table and the midnight sky color would work well.
Yankee Blue…it looks exactly like the blue I have been looking to use!
I’ve always wanted to try this! I am currently looking to furniture for my dd room and feel a little more comfortable trying a little diy! Looks great 🙂
Fluff because white is timeless.
WOW! It looks great!
I like the color Daisy.
Great job, Liza!! I’ve been thinking about using chalk paint on a few pieces in our bedroom, but have been nervous to start.
I forgot to say what color – I think I would use Hurricane Gray to coordinate with our black headboard/footboard.
That dresser is adorable! My favorite color is Fluff also!
Mason dixon gray – want to try this on some furniture.
All the colors are so cute! Great job!
LOVE Dixie Belle and your nursery dresser turned out great!!!
So hard to choose!!! Holy Guacamole, Colonel Mustard, Flamingo or Barn Red…..maybe lol
I love the white fluff color you used! I want to try chalk paint.
I love hurricane gray!
I’m looking forward to suing Drop Cloth.
I really like Colonel Mustard!
Peony! For something in my daughters room. So fun!
cobalt blue
Limeade is my favorite color! I’ve used it with peony and I’m about to start a new project with it and Pure Ocean. Love Dixie Belle!
I love sea glass!!
You did a great job!!! I like the Fluff color!!!
Flamingo….thanks for sharing how easy it was to use this paint. I’ve been wanting to try but thought those small jars wouldn’t go far over several projects and i also try to pinch pennies as well. Thanks again
Flamingo…I also wondered how far those little jars would stretch out over several projects so thanks for sharing your experience with Dixie belle paints I’ve never talked with anyone else that has used them and i have tons of furniture projects in my near future!
You’ve inspired me! After many years of saving we just bought our first home two weeks ago, and I have a thousand projects in mind. I plan to build and paint a bench for our eat-in kitchen, refinish an armoire, and create an entryway table for our foyer. Dixie Belle painting, here I come!
I have a five dollar end table that I want to paint black, but I’m too chicken to try it since I’m not a do-it-yourself person either. I’d get the black chalk paint if I won.
I like tea rose
I have recently started repurposing furniture and I’m ADDICTED!!!! I have never tried this paint before. I am excited!
Love love love Peony!!!
That dresser looks so cute now!
My favorite is Lucky Lavender.
The TerraCotta and Kudzu are my two favorites!
Love the flamingo!
What a great giveaway! We are in the process of buying our first house and of course we need paint! I’m loving Burlap, Daisy, and Tea Rose.
I like Hurricane Gray. Just into grays lately. Dresser looks great. The easier to do a project the better
I love the look of Terra Cotta and Yankee Blue.
Sea glass is my favorite
I always love white…so the fluff is my fav!
Loving the fluff!
I like palmetto! Or terra cotta or burlap, too many beautiful colors, too little furniture!
I like Bunker Hill Blue
I love the peony! Such a pretty shade of pink.
Love the cobalt blue.
LOVE the apricot color!!!
Liza- i’ve been wanting to try this for a while….holding out on a purchase to win this contest 🙂
looking at Daisy, Hurricane Gray, Colonel Mustard & Dried Sage
Looking for dried sage paint!!!
My NEW favorite color is Hurricane Gray! LOVE your dresser!
Fluff is my favorite!
I love them all who can pick just one 🙂
Love the colors! If i had to pick only one i would pick Sea Glass. Hope i win so i can get paint to redo my little girls desk! 🙂
Love this dresser ! My fave color is terra cotta – wish I could paint my kitchen cabinets this color ????
SeaGlass…love Dixie Belle!!!
I love the Peacock color, it’s so beautifully regal! Your Dresser turned out beautiful! Thanks for the tips on spraying water 🙂
I like palmetto, buttercream, and blueberry!
I love the barn red paint.
Love your dresser. Great idea for a makeover.
I love hurricane grey! But I think I need the fluff white color since I’m about to repaint my dining chairs!
I love Dizie Belle!! It really is super easy to use and you can’t mess up. If you paint something and you don’t like the color, just paint it again! I love how DB comes in 8 oz jars too! Great for small projects and si affordable. I have used a lot of colors but Drop Cloth is my go to. But love Pure Ocean too.
I love using what “you’ve got!” Congratulations ‘almost’ on your little girl! Dixie Belle looks absolutely fantastic on that dresser. Our 30 year old bedroom furniture is all wood, tongue & groove. Got it used while in the army & just can’t part with it. I’d love to try the Dixie Bell Mason Dixon on the two dressers. Who knows, it might create enough courage for me to Dixie Bell my kitchen cabinets!!
I love Dizie Belle. It really is so easy! My go to color is Drop Cloth, but I love Pure Ocean too!!
I absolutely love every color but I think plum crazy purple is my favorite!!! Can’t wait to see what you guys come up with in the future! I wish we had your products where I live.
Omg choosing one color is too hard! I use buttercream the most as my neutral! I’m addicted to doing projects in sea glass, kudzu, peony, and bunker hill blue! Driftwood is the perfect gray! And I’m dying to find the right spot to use flamingo!
Dixie Belle Paint makes it easy peasy to fall in love with all their products. How do you choose a favorite color when there’s 42 to choose from?! I love them all, as well as the team at Dixie Belle!
Dixie Belle is my FAVORITE chalk paint, and my favorite color (at the moment!!) is Peony!
I love to use Fluffy with the Grunge glaze! Your piece is perfect for a nursery. I have never added water, didn’t know about doing that, may have to try
Dixie Belle is my favorite chalk paint, and Peony is my favorite color (at least for today…I really love them all!!).
I Love Dixie Bell Paint! My current favorite is Sea Glass but I really love all the beautiful colors.
Love the dresser…I need to try this paint…would love all the different colors since I paint everything I get my hands on…lol
I would love to use Hurrican Gray on my kitchen table makeover.
My favorite Dixie Belle colors are Barn Red, Apricot and Sea Glass!
I love Dixie Bell it’s one of my favorite chalk paints. Great coverage and affordable
I need a jar of Burlap!
Beautifully classic…love and adore this!!
May favorite Dixie Belle Paint colors are fluff, pure ocean, and easy Peary wax in brown.
My favorite color is the Lucky Lavender. So many beautiful colors to choose from!
The dresser looks beautiful. Dixie Belle Paint is true quality. Love the colors.
Peony …. would love to win some paint to try a few projects of my own.
LOVE this look!
I love anything in Fluff!
Yankee blue!
Hurricane Gray.
I love all of your colors!!!!
Just found this paint at a shop. Love the lucky lavender.
Love this dresser. I need to learn to do this.
Favorite color is Fluff, can’t go wrong with that.
Favorite color Gulf
Love Lucky Lavender!
I went to their site and I love the Burlap color paint.
Peacock blue! I love this as I’m getting ready to paint a bedroom set for my daughter.
I like fluff and flamingo
I like fluff a lot.
I like the Midnight Sky!
I love the Hurricane Gray! My email is [email protected]