Woah! You may need to pull out your sunglasses for this playful whimsical dresser makeover!
It's been awhile since I went this wild on a furniture piece.....and it felt so good!
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The Design Plan: Playful Whimsical Dresser
This is a custom piece for my daughter-in-law's mother, Kathy, and it originally belonged to the grandmother, Meme.
Kathy is a force! She has a huge personality and is known for her wild ways and love of all things colorful!
She gave me complete freedom on this piece...only mentioning her love of leopard and black and white checks! Sooooooo.....here we go!
I spent some time drawing out my design ideas...which I really don't do very often.
This piece was going to be busy and I needed it to make sense in my brain before I got started.
To be honest, I stayed pretty close to my original plan which is quite surprising!
Before: Playful Whimsical Dresser Makeover
The piece came to me already painted turquoise. It was a latex paint with a high shine.... that was put on thick with lots of visible brushstrokes.
I chose not to sand it down or strip it as the piece is very primitive with lots of cracks and warped boards.
We are embracing its many imperfections and going to make them not the least bit noticeable when all is said and done!
It's quality, high functioning days are behind it.....and it will now be used as a eye candy feature piece with fond memories of belonging to Meme.
Supplies Used
Clouds: In the Navy/Drop Cloth, The Gulf, Peacock, Limeade, Peony
Top Coat Satin (to apply decoupage paper)
Stick with Me Adhesive (for gold leaf)
Posh Pigments Gold (for legs and trim around two top surfaces)
Easy Peasy Spray Wax (to seal the entire piece)
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How to Create a Playful Whimsical Dresser
After a good wash with White Lightning, I primed areas that I knew would be painted in checks and stripes with Bonding Boss in gray just because I wanted to be sure there was no bleed through in my white painted areas.
I covered the rest completely....with the chalk mineral paint The Gulf.
There is so much to cover in the making of this piece...I think I'd lose you if I described step-by-step.
So I am going to cover sections of the piece, products used...and some of my favorite processes.
Playful Whimsical Dresser Drawers
The very first thing I did was to paint the drawers in four patterns.
I originally painted them in four patterns with all black and white using Drop Cloth and Caviar.
I ended up changing this to include pink/gold animal prints...but kept the black and white stripes and harlequin.
I chose a small leopard print for one with gold leaf and black spots over a bold pink.
And then check out that gold leafed zebra pattern!!!
They both shimmer and shine so beautifully!!!
Swirling Blending Cloud Scene
My favorite process of this entire piece is the large door.
I spent two long sessions swirling and blending a cloud scene.....and I LOVE it!
The bottom appears dark, moody.....and maybe even a little peaceful....and the top opens up to sunshine, light and hope!
Playful Whimsical Celestial Dream Design Transfer
Ok...this next part was fun!!
I chose Lani's Celestial Dreams transfer and applied it OVER my clouds.
This transfer looks beige in the package but goes onto your furniture piece as white.
I loved it like this...but eventually I decided to bring in color by painting over the sun and moon with bold color to make it less dreamy and more punchy!
I also added a silver leafed lightning bold to the center of the sky.....to sort of match the powerful personality of Kathy!
An online viewer/friend of mine suggested outlining the transfer pieces in black paint to make them more "tattoo like"....and it was THE best suggestion ever!!!
Tattoo Decoupage on Playful Whimsical Dresser
Speaking of Tattoo.....I chose the Tattoo decoupage paper for the two right side panels...upper and lower!
This is one of my favorite decoupage paper that Dixie Belle carries! And while we are talking about design transfers...check out NINE other favorite design transfers HERE.
After securing it in place with Top Coat in Satin.....
I used Caviar black to shade in around the perimeter of each panel to give it a shadowed and moody effect! I LOVE how this looks!!!
