Boho Rattan Dresser Makeover

Here is a bit of a back story on this Boho Rattan Dresser Makeover, my friend who loves thrifted or free finds just as much as I do, found this on the side of the road on his way home from work! He called me up and was like “Ally, I have a dresser for you.”

I have never been a fan of bulky trim to the floor dressers, that’s very outdated in the décor department. First thing I knew I had to get rid of the bulky trimmed base.

HOW TO GET: RID OF UGLY BASE TRIM ON DRESSER & create that Boho Rattan Dresser Makeover we all want!

FYI, I am not one to use power tools. The only power tool I have ever used really is my orbital sander, and I wouldn’t even consider that to be a ‘power tool’. My husband thankfully is very handy when it comes to woodworking. SO using a skill saw was new for me! I was determined though to cut this ugly base trim off this dresser.

First I had to dismantle the ugly trim with a wood chisle and hammer

First step was to dismantle the ugly trim with a wood chisel and hammer, than I used painters tape along the trim that I wanted to cut with the skill saw so I had a straight line to follow.

Than I used the skill saw, this one I’m using is a Makita, I followed the line of painters tape to cut the trim.

I used the skill saw to cut all sides of the trim. The picture above is what the bottom of the dresser looks like without the trim!

We needed to have a bottom to mount the new wood base too. So my husband cut an MDF board to match the size of the bottom part of the dresser. I new I wanted to have a sleek and simple wood base for this dresser, unfortunately the price of wood with COVID has gone through the roof! SO, my husband went to RONA and found some reused pine posts for 8$!! we had a design in mind, and he was able to execute this with only a skill saw, drill, wood glue and screws! No pocket hole or jig saw needed. (both of which I’m hoping to purchase in the future, but we made do!)

I sanded down down the seems and the old colour off the wood and stained it with Minwax early american.

Before attaching the base to the dresser, I sanded the frame down, and used BONDO to fill the holes and lines in the dresser. I wanted this dresser to have a modern yet boho feel!

I used dry wall filler mixed with water to paint in the wood grains, and then sanded it smooth.

I primed the dresser 3 times with BIN shellac zinsser primer. (my go to always!)

After the primer, I used my Wagner detail sprayer to do 3 coats of Behr’s Cotton Sheet off white mixed with BB Frosch chalk paint powder.

After top coating the dresser with a Varathanes Poly in satin, I added these beautiful boho rattan dresser knobs that I got from a friend! She created the cutest home decor items. “Blue House on the Corner”