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A Quick and Easy Dresser Hardware Update

Updated gold hardware on mid-century modern dresser

Hi! Welcome to the short week and to a short post about finally crossing a project off my list in our bedroom overhaul. I had been wanting to update the hardware on these two dressers for a while, and I figured I'd use my normal MVP of cheap and easy updates, spray paint, to complete the task.

Dresser hardware, before

But weeks of soggy, cooler-than-expected weather foiled my plans. Then, last week, we finally had a stretch of hotter, drier days, which I used to tackle my backlog of Items to be Spruced.

hardware before (shovel and window guard are holding down my drop cloth and did not receive makeovers)

I had been thinking of a 60s- or 70s-era brass for these, but I couldn't find something I thought was different enough from the gold I had on hand to warrant a purchase. So I used the gold I had, and happily gilded away one day last week. After letting cure for a solid 24 hours, I brought them in and re-attached to the dresser - but not before I used the opportunity to really clean and polish the hardware-free dressers.

Olive oil

I used my homemade all-purpose cleaner for the first round, but then I decided to up the polish ante with some some olive oil. I keep olive oil in my favorite mister all the time, so it was easy to spray a microfiber cloth and polish polish polish away.

Polished and updated dresser

I did have some qualms about making over the hardware. These dressers are really near and dear to my heart. I got them at a quirky resale boutique when we moved to DC (Miss Pixie's, for locals), and paid, at the time, the exorbitant sum of $250 each for them. (Upon reflection, nothing in our current house but our Craigslisted dining table edges that out even now). But I was so in love with them, and it was so cool for Bret and I to buy this piece of "real," well-made furniture that fit our style, and wasn't anybody else's hand-me-down or roadside detritus. They didn't require any work or paint to make them beautiful: they woke up like that. So, I was both hesitant to mess with the original hardware and I really wanted the hardware to step up and make these pieces shine like always knew they could.

Dressers

There's a little before-and-after, and though I think in person, the difference might be even more stark, I am so happy I decided to paint them! I have nothing against mixing metals, but the gold just goes so well in here (especially with my Donald Trump-Level Classy Gold Bedspread), and it makes the dressers feel as special as I think they are! It's dorky, but I've heard hardware referred to as the "jewelry" of a room, and I have to embrace the analogy for here. My dressers look so much more dressed for the occasion now! 

The insides arealso getting a makeover, as I make my way through an organizing challenge of the entire house. That is a story for another day! I hope your week is short and sweet and I'll see ya tomorrow!