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Dazzling Chest Of Drawers Makeover With Lilac Latex Paint

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 Yes, you can paint furniture with latex paint! Sometimes, you need to use a primer before painting; sometimes, you do not. For this project, I used a primer. 

chest of drawers

How awesome is this chest of drawers? I bought it from an online auction. I don’t know if you are familiar with online or in-person auctions, but you can get a little carried away if you aren’t careful. 

Once I spotted the chest online, I was back and forth on how much I wanted to pay for it. I mean, how often do you see a piece of vintage furniture like this one?

Luckily the auction company is only about 15 minutes from my home so I went over and looked at the chest and found that it was in great condition. 

The auction is open for a week and I kept bidding on the chest and the price kept going up. I finally decided to wait until just before the auction closed to see what the bids looked like.

My last bid was $70, and I bought the piece. However, the auction company adds a 10% fee plus tax, so the price went up to just over $80. I think the chest was worth it; what about you?

Now I’m going to take you through the chest of drawers makeover and today is Furniture Fixer Upper Day so you have extra furniture inspiration.

gray primer

When I looked at the paint on the chest, I could tell it was probably lead-based because it just had a certain look to it. It’s hard to explain, but if you have been in the furniture or house painting business for a while, you can recognize lead-based paint. 

Since lead-based paint can cause serious health problems when breathed in or ingested (children chewing on furniture or banisters, for example), the best thing for me to do was not sand the paint and instead cover it with a good coat of primer and a couple of coats of paint. That should keep the lead-based paint contained.

My favorite primer is Glidden Gripper (now marketed as PPG Seal Grip Gripper). I like to have the primer tinted light or medium gray because white primer takes several coats of paint to cover, depending on your topcoat color. 

I brushed on one coat of gray tinted primer, and I’m sorry, but I either deleted a few of my process photos or I just can’t find them! I had photos showing the inside of the drawers, the gray primer, and other steps in the makeover. My age is telling. 

Behr Paint Color Lovers Knot

When I posted a photo of the chest of drawers in an earlier post, several of you commented that it should be painted in a neutral color, and I agreed. But the more I looked at the chest, the more I felt it needed a feminine look but not too girly, more of an adult feminine look. I just wasn’t feeling off-white, pale gray, tan, or similar colors would be right for the chest.

So I went to Home Depot and looked through the paint chips and Lovers Knot from Behr caught my eye right away. I picked up the chip and kept looking, but this one was it.

Behr Scuff Defense Paint Lovers Knot color

The color is what I would call lilac. It isn’t pink like Pepto Bismol and it isn’t purple like Barney!

Behr paint for furniture

In this photo you can see the gray primer and then Lovers Knot being brushed over the primer. 

Dazzling Chest of Drawer painted with latex paint

I chose to have the color mixed in Behr Scuff Defense which I’ve used before. This paint really adheres. You don’t have to worry about it chipping off.

new furniture knobs from Hobby Lobby for painted furniture

I applied two coats of paint and then went back with a small paintbrush and covered a few missed spots on those detailed trim pieces.

I almost dry-brushed white paint on the edges and details but decided that would be overkill. The chest just speaks for itself. 

antique chest of drawers painted with latex paint

I didn’t have any furniture knobs in my stash that worked with the paint color so I headed to Hobby Lobby. I found the marble look ceramic knobs that looked like they were made to go with the chest. 

The only problem was that the store did not have enough knobs and they were not on sale. This chest has 13 furniture knobs!! 

detailed antique chest of drawers or dresser painted lilac

If you have shopped at Hobby Lobby, you know the knobs are on sale for 50% off every other week. Well, I didn’t really want to wait a week, plus I needed more knobs than my local store had in stock. I looked online, but that was a problem, too.

how to paint furniture with latex paint and replace the drawer pulls with Hobby Lobby furniture pulls

Luckily, there is a Hobby Lobby in Hopkinsville, KY, where my favorite junk shop is located. So I took a trip to the junk shop and stopped in at Hobby Lobby. 

Between the two stores, I was able to find 14 knobs, but the marbling was different on them. You expect marbling to be different, but some of the knobs were very light, and some were dark.

If you look closely at the photo of the entire chest, you see that the knobs on the top part of the chest are lighter than the ones lower on the chest. That was the only option I could come up with, and it all finally came together. 

The other thing is that the total cost for 13 knobs was a little over $70 after tax! So the cost of this furniture makeover including the paint ( I used less than half a can) is around $170. It will be hard for me to recoup my cost when I take the chest to my booth and tag it for sale.

And that is my chest of drawers makeover story. Leave a note if you have time before heading out on the furniture tour. Take the Furniture Fixer Upper Tour by clicking the text links below the “before” makeovers photo collage….

furniture before makeovers

Furniture Fixer Upper Tour:
 Hutch Makeover With Silk Mineral Paint – Confessions of a Serial DIY’er
 Brass Table Makeover – Salvaged Inspirations
 Two Toned Side Table – My Repurposed Life
 Vintage Buffet Makeover – A Ray Of Sunlight
Chest of Drawer Painted With Latex Paint color Lilac – Petticoat Junktion (you are here)

 

lilac latex paint for chest of drawers
As always, thanks for being here, Kathy

Kathy Owen founder of Petticoat Junktion

Author: Kathy Owen
Kathy Owen is the founder of the home decor blog Petticoat Junktion where she shares tutorials on painting furniture and upcycling thrifty finds into unique home décor. Her DIY projects have been featured on the Home Depot Blog, Plaid Crafts, Behr Designer Series, and in numerous magazines.

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11 Comments

  1. Janet Schen says:

    I love the color! It is absolutely perfect! I love all the details on this chest and it just so pretty!

  2. gail wilson says:

    Those knobs are perfect, Kathy! I love the color of this chest of drawers. I hope you get your money back on it.
    Have you ever seen my decoupaged knobs? I would have probably done that instead of the high priced knobs (not on sale). 🙂

    Pinned, shared on FB
    gail

  3. Were you not tempted to gently enhance the moulding on the drawers and central panel?

  4. Absolutely love this makeover! The color is so vibrant and fun!

  5. Such a lovely, distinctive piece. Investing $200 in it may feel like a lot, but someone searching for a unique, well-made wooden chest of drawers would see anything under $1,000 as a real bargain.

  6. Denise - Salvaged Inspirations says:

    This is such an awesome is this chest of drawers and I think $80 is a very fair price for this piece. I LOVE the color and the knobs Kathy, they look like they were made for this piece! PINNED! XOXO

  7. Deborah Mealus says:

    Beautiful! I love this and your effort in finding the pulls! I also love the idea of dry brushing with white. Either way, your piece makes a great statement!

  8. I was not a fan of the lilac on this piece until it was completed! What a beauty! You did another great job on this sweet piece and I love the knobs – they are worth the extra effort to find.

  9. Mother Deer says:

    Wow I love this! The color and knobs are so unusual, yet perfect 🙂

  10. christy James says:

    What an amazing score, Kathy! Someone is going to love waking up to this piece every day! XOXO