Refreshed Mid Century Chest

I have had this little mid century chest that I bought at a yard sale for several years. It was a bit beat up, but I loved the shape of it and it has a good amount of storage. My husband, on the other hand, has been trying to throw it away since the day I brought it home. This weekend I finally dug in and gave it a lovely refresh. And I didn’t use a lick of paint!

Here’s how I did it!

Materials

Gel Stain – I bought mine at Michael’s

White Adhesive Shelf Liner – found at Target

Sand paper

Paper towels

1. Remove the drawers from the chest and lightly sand the portions of the furniture that you plan to stain

2. Wipe down dust from the sanding using a damp paper towel

3. Apply the gel stain to the dresser using a paper towel. I poured a line of stain along the dresser, rubbed it in with the paper towel and then repeated that process until the surface was covered. Use long sweeping strokes that go along with the grain of the wood. You will use a LOT of paper towels. Part of the rubbing process is really removing excess stain.

4. Repeat the staining process until you are satisfied with the depth of the color.

5. Allow the stain to dry and set for up to 48 hours before placing anything on it.

6. Now for the drawers! Remove the hardware from the drawers. Cover the fronts of the drawers with contact paper, wrapping the paper around the edges of the drawers

7. Replace the hardware onto the drawers. When you are reinserting the screws, you will need to poke them through the contact paper.

Guess what? You’re done!