It’s time for a post long in the making, the out-with-the-old, in-with-the-new, dresser-to-TV stand DIY. Need a refresher? Let’s go way back here and remember how we (yes, that includes you) were sick and tired of that IKEA TV bench.

All caught up? Alright. So, Mr. Gets Me Every Time and I scoured the old Craigslist till we came up with a dresser at the perfect size, price and location. That’s how we ended up with the above beauty. I know. As much as we too loved those pretty princess decals and butterfly knobs, the paint was just a little too chipped up for our liking. Before we say goodbye, you know you want those close-ups.

The previous owner was a young girl turned teen who had outgrown the girly pink accents—the family was on their way to a soccer game when we picked up the piece. Lucky for her, and us, we knew just what to do to transform this dresser. Since there are plenty of posts about dresser reno on the interwebs, I’ll just get to the in-progress and after shots.

We went with Benjamin Moore’s Peacock Blue for our paint color. Looking at the color palette online, we figured it perfectly complimented our new gray couch, plus it was just the pop of color the room needed. We needed a place to stash our DVD player and cable box, so we knew the top row of drawers* wouldn’t be making it back in the picture, for now. But, we did need to create a shelf where the top drawers were. (*We still painted them, in case this dresser ever is a dresser again.)

Armed with measurements in hand, we went to Home Depot where a friendly, and helpful, employee helped us pick out a piece of wood heavy enough to bear the load of the entertainment necessities. Once it was home, it too was sanded & painted. Then we drilled bunches of holes to help with some air circulation. Holes were also drilled in the back panel of wood for the same purpose. And, here we go!

Ta-da! Here’s the finished piece, and Louise inspecting it. We loaded up the middle drawer with DVDs and CDs, freeing up tons of room on our bookcases. And in the bottom shelf we store extra remotes plus all of our board games. We couldn’t be happier. We fixed up the entire dresser in the comfort of our own apartment. No worries, the paint was low-odor and drop cloths and sheets covered everything else until we were finished.

As you remember from last week, the knobs were crucial to this project. So we went to IKEA last weekend and picked up two sets of SVEP knobs. We really liked their traditional shape and liked the look of the black against the blue—especially with the other black furniture in the apartment. (We also grabbed a set of the SVEP handles too, in case we ever decide to put those top drawers back in place.)

Have you refinished any furniture recently? Did we miss any steps? I’ve heard about a wax finish you can put on furniture, but I didn’t read much into it—oops! No matter, we still are proud of a job well done.