Emerald Green & Gold Dresser

The trees are finally starting to bloom and the grass is turning from brown to a vibrant green here in New England. It was a very long winter and I really missed the green. Perhaps that’s why I enjoyed working on this colorful emerald green dresser this week.

The original dresser had a 1970’s appearance and brown stain. It was time for an update. All six drawer pulls were attached and those wood blocks sitting on top were glued to the top drawer.

What I love about this dresser is the size. The size is what makes this piece so versatile as a dresser, a bedside table, an entryway table, or a TV stand. It has so many uses.

In addition, those are three very large drawers that are immaculate inside. It came with all the right features, my only challenge was to make it look modern.

Most of what I’ve been painting lately has been either black or white or some combinations of that. It was time to add some color! This emerald green was a mis-tint at the hardware store and worth the risk – and it was so worth it!

After some some light sanding and priming, I brushed on the emerald green. Loved the color but there was no depth to the piece. That’s when I pulled out the dark wax and very lightly applied it. Here are two drawers – one with and one without the dark wax.

You can see how the dark wax adds another layer of depth to the otherwise plain latex paint, giving the appearance of wood grain showing through the colorful topcoat. This photo captures the true color of the piece.

Always try to save the hardware from an older piece of furniture, especially hardware that is this unique and looks like it’s weight in gold. The hardware just needed a fresh coat of metallic spray paint to bring it back to life and make it shine.