Boring Malm Dresser transforms into Fabulous Campaign Dresser

A few weeks ago I started one of the DIY projects for my “baby of the world nursery” that I installed today.  I had seen several varieties of DIY campaign dressers on Pinterest and I knew it would be perfect for this space. Basically I took an inexpensive boring MALM 4-drawer chest  and transformed it into a fabulous campaign chest of drawers. I picked this gorgeous super glossy peacock-blue color (Benjamin Moore Evening Blue #2066-20) and lightly sanded and then painted each section first before assembling the dresser. I ended up using 3 coats of paints to get an even coverage and because of the humidity it took several weeks to completely dry.

Once the paint was dry I enlisted the help of my handy hubby and brother to drill the hardware into the center of each drawer front and on each of the 4 corners of  every drawer. As you can see from the photo the hardware does not sit flush inside the drawer front because I did not have the tools to chisel out and recess the groove required. None of the other bloggers who worked on a similar project did that either (even though the hardware manufacturer says you should), so i just followed their lead. Once the piece is in the space you really can’t tell that the handle isn’t flush unless you’re standing directly in front of the dresser looking down.

My brother put the whole piece together but because the paint was still a bit tacky it ended up peeling off in some spots. Fortunately we had some leftover paint so it was not a problem to touch up.

I am so pleased with how it all turned out and I don’t think you would ever be able to tell that it was an Ikea piece!

What Ikea pieces have you transformed?

Benjamin Moore Metallic Paint

A few months ago I read about a metallic paint line from Benjamin Moore that looked really cool.  (A Metal-Like Paint from Benjamin Moore – NYTimes.com.) When I was considering revamping my hallway I recalled this article and thought that metallic silver stripes would really punch up the small space. I selected a color called Shyness (PT360) and the man at the paint store told me I needed to select a base color that would compliment the silver otherwise the metallic would not show.  Armed with my paint brushes, rollers, tape, and paint I set off back home to map out my design.

When determining the layout of my stripes I had to consider the fuse box which is located in my hallway.  I wanted to leave it white, so I determined the height of my stripes by the size of the box which is 10 1/2 inches. I borrowed a long level from my handyman and measured every 10 1/2″ up and down the wall. Then, using painters tape I positioned the rows of tape either on the interior of my mark (if the space was to be white) or on the exterior of the mark (if the space was to be painted metallic) and made sure the lines were straight with my level.  This definitely gets confusing so it’s a good idea to double-check the space in between each row with a ruler once you have completed a section. To make matters even more confusing I had to work around 5 doors and still try to make sure that each stripe lined up horizontally 360 degrees around the space. Make sure you rub the tape in place so you get clean, sharp lines.

Once your walls are taped you’re ready to paint. I had to apply the base coat first and two coats of the metallic finish on top.  A tip I read about was “to remove the tape immediately after the last coat of paint is applied, while the walls are still wet. Waiting until the paint has fully dried may cause peeling and uneven lines”. While I followed those instructions I still had some paint that bled from underneath so once everything was dry I had to go back with a small paint brush and touch up some of the lines. It was very frustrating since I had spent so many hours taping to begin with.

I learned after the fact that the paint is really meant to be used for faux finishing – think textured walls – so unfortunately my walls didn’t come out the way I had hoped. You can see the roller marks and brush strokes within each stripe. 😦

Also, since this is an apartment rental the walls are not in very good condition and are not very forgiving. If you were going to attempt this paint in a well-lit area you must make sure the walls are skim coated prior to painting. Every crack, hole, or minor imperfection becomes glaringly obvious.

While in theory this project seemed like a good idea the end results were not what I hoped for.  Has anyone used a  metallic paint and achieved a smooth finish?  Since I did all the taping myself (except for the top row which I had to enlist my husband for) it took about 7 hours and the total cost was around $75.

After painting I added a few black and white family photographs, and covered a bland cork board in fabric (more to come on this project). I think the space looks better than it did before, but the roller marks still bug me. Does anyone have any tips on how to fix this?