The 80s. Girl, if you did not experience the 80s first hand - I’m sorry. Leg warmers, ear muffs and shoulder pads. Walkmen, ratted bangs and perms. Hyper-color t-shirts, mixed tapes and Friday night VCR rentals. I mean…have I painted a colorful enough picture for you?
When you live it - it’s ALL THAT. Looking back…you wonder why on earth you left the house with ginormous poufs on your ears, a giant boom box on your shoulder and a piece of cardboard tucked under your arm. WHHHYYYYY? I’ll tell you why. Because one day you’ll get invited to an 80s themed party or you’ll need an out-of-this-world costume idea for Halloween and you can reference your memories rather than Pinterest for inspiration. Maybe you just need some good stories to tell your kids about the good old days. Or…the most likely reason? It was status quo and it’s just the way it was.
Kind of like this dresser. Only this dresser, unlike you, never left the 80s. It’s heavy as all get out, has great bones and was taken really good care of. But style-wise, reeks of the 80s.
There are several details that earmark this dresser as generationally 80s, but the things that date it most of all are the color of the wood and the baseboard at the bottom. The faux bamboo doesn’t help either, to be honest. But that’s going to be less of a problem once we address the wood.
Transforming this dresser is as easy as:
Paint
New legs
How to paint furniture (the abridged version):
I use Annie Sloan chalk paint when I paint wood furniture. Other than taking a little bit of time, it’s so easy and instantly transforms your piece of furniture, which will in turn, transform the room you place your furniture in.
Prep the piece by thoroughly wiping it down with a damp cloth. Wipe inside and out.
Paint two coats, letting the paint dry between coats.
Don’t freak out if/when you see brush strokes.
Lightly sand (with fine grit sand paper) the piece. This eliminates the brush strokes.
Seal the paint with wax.
Enjoy!
If you’re looking for step-by-step instructions for how you can transform a piece of furniture with chalk paint, go check out my course called Painting Furniture 101. I hold your hand the whole way and because I like you so much, you get a discount for enrolling. Enter code: Painting Fun at checkout for $5 off (which is basically the 1980s equivalent of 20 boxes of candy cigarettes!).
How to change the dresser legs:
Turn the dresser upside down. But be careful. Vintage furniture is made with REAL wood. Real wood = heavy. Grab a friend for this step and remove all drawers first.
Detach the baseboard at the bottom. We did this by tapping it with a hammer and removing a couple screws. I did, however, have to use a hacksaw to cut a stubborn threadbare screw.
Attach new legs. Whatever floats your boat. My personal preference: 3” or 4” tapered legs. These are the legs I used: La Vane 4" Wooden Legs
Stand back and take a Polaroid of your new piece...it's gorgeous!
Don't forget to share the projects you're working on! Tag me on IG @figandfarm so I can do a 1980s cheer for you!!
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