Dresser Makeover I Wish I Had Done Years Ago

Years ago, in what seems like another life, I worked in a buying office for a big home goods store based out of New York. Along with carrying items like bedding, towels and dishes they also carried bigger items like bedroom furniture. It was the time of the bedroom set, so when Jon and I first moved in together we used my discount to pick one up. It came with the bed, two nightstands, and a dresser. Slowly, the set has been dismantled, and the only thing left in my bedroom is the dresser. It was expensive and well-made, so I always felt bad getting rid of it, but it wasn’t my style anymore. I knew I needed to update it in order to be happy, and as I was walking the aisles of True Value, I had an aha moment and knew exactly how I could update it.

I had a small amount of grasscloth wallpaper left from another project, and I knew it was just enough to reface my drawer fronts.

After taking some measurements of the drawer fronts, I simply measured out the sizes on my grasscloth and used a razor blade to cut them out.

I mocked up the grasscloth on the drawer front to see if any excess needed to be trimmed, and poked a hole through it to make sure my handle screw would fit through it.

Then, simply use a paintbrush to apply some wallpaper adhesive to the back of the wallpaper:

I also like to apply a little to the drawer front:

I like to let it get a bit tacky, so I let it sit for a couple of minutes before I apply the grasscloth paper to the drawer front.

Smooth the grasscloth to remove bubbles. A smoothing tool or a seam roller would work wonderfully. I forgot to pick either one up, so I used a bottle of children’s medicine, which did the trick in a pinch. Ah, got to keep it real.

Remove excess glue from the borders:

The final step is simply attaching your hardware. You can use whatever came with your dresser or pick up a new one while you are picking up your supplies at True Value.

I wish I had done this years ago.