I’ve got a before and after for you today that took even me by surprise.  I know the magic paint can do, but sometimes I am still delighted by the transformation.  That was the case here with a PURPLE dresser makeover… 

I bought this dresser off of FB Marketplace over the summer, it was a lot bigger than it looks and barely fit in the van with my 3 kids.  It was one of those furniture hauls, where the whole time I really wondered if it was a mistake.  I was planning to use it for my bedroom makeover though, so I kept telling myself it was worth it.  Then I got it home, it was just not quite what I imagined for my room so it sat and sat in the garage (taking up a lot of space).

Around this time, my neighbor and friend (and a customer from way back when we had yard sale style sales) told me she wanted to re-do her bedroom and to keep an eye out for a couple of dressers.  I showed her what I had, and she too was skeptical that we could make it look good, but she trusts me (and calls me her “enabler”) so we planned a purple dresser makeover.  

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Before.

Here’s the piece… it’s solid, and has a TON of storage.  

I also had this piece given to me, it’s a little beast of solid maple.  Well made, but maybe just needing a re-fresh.  I could see them pairing well together and they were both what my friend had in mind, so we went with it.  

I’ve been loving experimenting with Dixie Belle paints lately (see what I thought about it in the Dixie Belle review here).  Dixie Belle has some great products and I wanted to see what it could do on this dresser set.  Not to mention they have a gorgeous line of colors and just the deep, rich purple we were looking for. 

How to Refinish Furniture Using Dixie Belle Paint

Step 1. Prep

Dixie Belle Paint doesn’t require sanding, but these dressers were both just a little too shiny to just paint and hope it sticks.  I did a scuff sanding with 220 grit sandpaper. It only takes a few minutes and really ensures the paint will adhere to the wood – it’s worth the extra prep I think! 

Once sanded, I used Dixie Belle’s White Lightning to clean the pieces.  This stuff is amazing!  All you do is mix it (it’s in a powdered form) in a spray bottle with water, and use it as your cleaner.  It’s like TSP, but better.  No smell, and it really does work! 

Here’s how well it works… now this is some of the sanding dust, but also all of the dirt and grime from years of use on this piece.  It takes off things you can’t even see are there.  Once the piece is clean, let it dry before you paint. 

Step 2. Paint! 

I chose to use Dixie Belle’s Aubergine for this dresser set.  It’s a beautiful dark purple.  My favorite brush to use is their Flat Medium, it fits really nicely in my hand, is a nice size and helps the paint go on nice and smooth.  

The paint has amazing coverage!! I only used ONE COAT to get it this rich dark color.  I love that about it, it means the process goes faster and you are able to use less paint.  These two dressers took less than one 16oz jar of Aubergine paint! 

Step 3.  Finishing it up

To take this dresser set from PURPLE to puuurrrple, we decided to tone down the color a bit with some Black Wax. 

Let me tell you about the Best Dang Wax for a second… I swore off most forms of waxing years ago when I just couldn’t get a nice consistent sheen on dark pieces.  I just couldn’t stand it.  I also never liked that wax was a softer finish that had to be redone every few years for durability on a piece.  

Then I found Dixie Belle’s Best Dang Wax, get this, it’s water-based.  What this means is that you can topcoat OVER the wax, so you can still use wax to get all kinds of neat finishes, but you can topcoat it with a clear topcoat to be sure it lasts, and dries to a hard finish that doesn’t need to be re-done. That changes everything.  (It also doesn’t smell!)

Back to the dresser.  So to tone down our Aubergine a bit, all I did was use a chip brush to apply the wax all over one drawer at a time.  Before the wax was dry, I then used a cotton t-shirt to wipe and blend the wax across each surface (work just a bit at a time).  It gave the perfect toned down look. 

This photo didn’t come out as well as I had hoped, but the bottom drawer has the wax, the top doesn’t.  (You can see how well the paint covers here in just ONE coat though.)

Once the wax was dry, I used General Finishes High Performance Topcoat in Satin finish over the wax to give it a nice finish.  It turned out to have a beautiful shine and finish to the touch! 

Step 4. Hardware

The hardware is truly the jewelry of the piece, and this is no different!  We chose these chrome pulls from D. Lawless Hardware, and boy is it beautiful! It gives fantastic contrast with the dark color and the shiny metal, it also dresses up the pieces considerably.  The rest of the room will have mercury glass lamps and a silver mirror to give it a little glam and tie into the hardware on the dressers.  

After.

I refinished the tops of the dressers using this method, it was my favorite combination stain of General Finishes Antique Oak and Walnut stain. 

I wouldn’t usually say purple is my color, but I sure do love how these pieces came out!

These dressers were delivered yesterday to their new home, I can’t wait to see the room all put together!  If you haven’t tried Dixie Belle paint yet, I’d really recommend you do – it’s a fun product to work with and gives a beautiful finish. 

Until next time, 

Jenni