Painted New: Antique "shaker" dresser

I'm calling this the "shaker" dresser for two reasons: 1) When I got this thing, it was shaky as all heck and needed some serious stabilizing and 2) I used Benjamin Moore Shaker Beige on the body of it. So why not call it the shaker dresser to distinguish it from other antique dressers I have done or will do?

Right, great logic!

One of my training clients texted me months back with this picture, telling me it was a free curb-side piece and asking if I wanted it. Um YES! When I didn't respond to her in time, she correctly assumed I would want it and loaded it into her SUV. God bless her for knowing me all too well!

This picture makes the dresser look incredible for what it was. When I saw it in person, it was a complete mess. As I mentioned before, the whole thing was shaky to even a slight touch. Additionally, the drawers didn't slide well, one drawer-front had a large crack, the top had major water damage, some of the keyholes were missing, and someone had tried to fill in large a hole in that middle dresser with some gloopy globby stuff that was hard as wood and was not flush with the drawer-front. I had my work cut out for me if I was gonna salvage this piece.

Honestly, these makeovers are my favorite because I get to turn this totally useless dresser into something beautiful and functional!

Luckily, I was able to sand down that gloopy mess on the middle drawer so that the front was smooth. I also sanded the top and re-stained it.

I ordered two new keyholes to replace the missing ones.

I hammered the sides back into place to minimize the shakiness, and added a piece of 1/8" plywood to the back to completely stabilize it's structure.

The drawers all needed new sliders, which helped tremendously.

And lastly, the body got a paint job! I had a gallon of Benjamin Moore Shaker Beige in eggshell hanging out in my garage (I think I got it for free at a garage sale!), so I hand sanded the surfaces and slapped on a messy 3 coats!

I sanded the edges for a distressed look and the flat surfaces for a smoother finish. To top it all off, I brushed stain over the whole body for an aged look. I simply used the same Minwax Walnut stain that I used on the top!