Upcycled Mirror Front Dresser Tutorial

By Mandi 05/13/2011

Freak.

Did you guys forget why you read Vintage Revivals? You know that part about Epic Projects?

Well guess what? I have an EPIC Project!!

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It all started with this lovely dresser that I found on Craigslist. My awesome MIL bought it for me for my birthday.

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I pretty much never sand furniture. Probably cause I am lazy but I haven’t had a problem yet so here is how I paint.

1. Clean off your piece. Chances are its nasty and really dusty. This will make your spray paint crack and bubble. So wipe wipe wipe.

 

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2. Prime it with Kilz. If you don’t shake the can for a good 2-3 minutes you will get a sandpapery finish….which sucks and then you have to sand. So just make sure you shake it really well mmmmkay?

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3. You want to apply your paint in light coats. This is the side of the dresser after 1 coat. The reason for this is that you will get more even coverage and no drips! The color I used is Krylon’s Coral Isle. If you are having a hard time finding it you can click here for my secret insider info.

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After 2 coats.

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4. Then I really lightly glazed it. You can see my glazing technique here.

5. Glam it up!!

Originally I was just going to put mirror in the 5 flat drawers.

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After seeing it though, I decided it needed mirror on all of the fronts. So I pried off the decorative pieces……with a butter knife. Cause that’s how I roll.

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When I had the mirror cut for the first 5 pieces I had Jones Paint and Glass drill a small hole in the center of the glass for a knob. I was expecting my total bill to be like $12.00. And it was…for the mirror. They charged me $25.00 to drill 5 small holes. I was not happy about that.

So when 2 of the 5 pieces broke I knew I was not going to pay them to do that again. I reordered the`broken ones from The Glass Doctor and added the other ones that I needed. Then I drove my awesomeness over to Home Depot and bought a 1/4” diamond tipped ceramic drill bit. It was $12.00. When I got the mirror back from the shop I drilled the holes myself. You can see the technique I use to drill glass and ceramic here.

And guess what? It worked perfectly, I saved money and now I have a new drill bit! Holla! (If you aren’t comfortable drilling on glass then just have the shop do it for you.)

P.s. I get questions every time I post a mirror or glass project about where I buy it. The company that I have found to be the fastest and best priced is The Glass Doctor. (In St. George they are right down the street from Costco)  They are always so nice and helpful. And from this point forward they are who I will be using exclusively. I am pretty sure that they are in most cities!

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I needed something really simple for the knobs because it already had a crapload going on. I found these ones at Home Depot for $1.39 each.

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P.s.s. I am sort of OBBSESSED with brass right now. I know its not for everyone and that’s okey dokey with me! Pretty much I love it though.

I marked where the hole in the glass was drilled and made a hole in the drawer front.

Then I used mirror mastic to attach the mirror to the drawer.

***MAKE SURE THAT YOU DO NOT SCREW THE KNOB ON TOO TIGHT! IT WILL BREAK YOUR MIRROR! Trust me I think that was the reason for the project fail…****

Lastly, I glued the center decoration from the cupboard on top of the glass and TA DA! Done and done.

Here are a few more pics..

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P.S.S.S. Today is the last day to VOTE!!

Love Your Guts

 

 

 

Linking up to Miss Mustard Seed’s awesomeness

48 thoughts on “Upcycled Mirror Front Dresser Tutorial”

  1. That turned out really nice!! Love all your repurposing/refinishing! And thanks for the heads up on ordering the spray paint..

  2. It’s an awesome redo! Score for Krylon having a great coral spray paint color. Jealous. Now I have to redo my dressers in the garage asap!

  3. Not only is it awesome, that’s awesome that you’re MIL was cool enough to find and get it for you. That’s cool that she’d knew you’d turn it into a kick ass piece of furniture.

  4. It’s so funny when our relatives start buying us “junk” for our birthdays or just because. They learn quickly how it is the best gift we can get. Most women love it when their husbands bring them home flowers, but I prefer it when mine surprises me with a can of OOPS paint..

    Love your color choice for the piece you did. I just painted my daughter’s bedroom furniture a very similar color. The mirrors you used are the icing on the cake…

    Take care,
    Lisa

  5. Thanks for the tips for spray painting- I hate sanding stuff and didn’t realize that I could skip that step!! Can’t wait to try your technique.

  6. thanks for the info! my sister and i are just re-doing our first piece ever right now. curious as to how many cans of the coral you used for this dresser?

  7. Loving it! I just found an amazing dresser that needs a little TLC and I hope it looks half as good as this one. Questions: is it better to use spray paint and primer rather than regular paint? Im a bit of a DIY virgin.

  8. OMG! I love it. And it would look perfect in my bedroom. I have a small chair that my mom recovered for me in coral chenille and some floral fabric. Oh, why did I get rid of my ugly dresser?!?

  9. Just wanted to let you know that this is scheduled on my blog for a feature tomorrow. It is seriously one of my favs. I am going to have to order some of that coral isle paint, I think it would give a pop of color to any room, and I’ve got a credenza in mind that I’ve been looking for just the right color. Thanks to you I’ve found it.

  10. Mandi, I never had a chance to tell you how much I LOVE your dresser!! The color is perfect and I love how rad the mirrors look! So cool!

  11. woah!! where have i been? why have I not seen this project before!!! OMG!!!! It is amazing! and Im so gonna steal it 😉
    I love it!! wow- ok so im going to read through the rest of your awesome-ness.

  12. I love the dresser. You gave me some great ideas and I painted an old dresser I had in the garage I bought at a garage sale. I had it for 6 months and didn’t know what to do with it. My daughter loves it now. Thank you so much for all the great ideas. Keep them coming. I have 2 more projects and i’ll keep looking for more ideas. Thank you so much.

  13. I am in Love with this projects I’m going to have to try it you are so inspirational

  14. I’m inspired! I am going to attempt a similar look but with a product I just discovered called Looking glass paint (8 oz spray paint can at Walmart for $8.47?) supposed to give a surface a mirrored effect.

  15. OMG! Watching Nate Berkus right now and see this dresser…one that I’ve had pinned to my Boudoir Inspirations Pinterest board for awhile. So excited for you!! Congratulations!!

  16. I have this dresser and i inherited it from my grandmother. Do you have any info on it.

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