Sunday, July 19, 2015

Anthropologie Knock Off - DIY Weathered Gray Dresser


Hi friends, hope you all had a fabulous weekend. We had a busy one that included a
fun charity event, a fundraiser for the Golden Retriever Rescue of the Rocky Mountains,
GRRR Gala. Is that the best name or what? We were greeted by golden retrievers on the
 way in and they strolled about throughout the evening - completely spoiled with endless
 ear scratches and tummy rubs by all of us dog lovers. :)
Since I didn't have time to work on any of my projects I'm finally sharing the long overdue
 tutorial for the Anthropologie Knock Off Dresser from the
 One Room Challenge Bedroom Reveal.
 


BEFORE:
My client's dad had made them this dresser years ago but they'd never finished
it, we saw the Anthropologie Portside Dresser and set out to create a similar look.


OUR INSPIRATION:

Anthropologie Portside Dresser


HARDWARE:
Anthropologie sells the Equestrian Pulls separately
and we used Flat Corner Braces in Brass Satin from Home Depot.


We loved the rustic texture on the inspiration dresser but wanted a more subtle version,
 as well as a more overall gray color than brown.


This type of furniture makeover was a first for me. I'll tell you what I did, but different
woods and finishes will take the paint differently (i.e. my sample board vs the dresser).
I did know when creating this kind of look it's all about lots of layering the paint, 
you may start to think you've created a mess on your client's treasured piece BUT
remember it gets better as you go along. Patience!   

SUPPLIES:
Annie Sloan Chalk Paints - French Linen & Graphite
Homax Wall Texture Spray - Orange Peel 
Brown Paint (not pictured) 
Sea Sponge 
Martha Stewart Liquid Gilding in Gold - for bottom of legs
  

I tried a sample board first using spray on wall texture to achieve the rustic texture.
I played with the amount I sprayed on and also wiping it off as it dried (within minutes)
 to get a feel for the look we liked.    
It rubs/sands off easily, so if you get too much on your final product no worries.




I decided to do a base coat of a combination of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint
French Linen & Graphite and then apply the texture followed by more paint.
 I dipped a slightly damp sea sponge into both colors and then blotted it
off on a the paper plate.


To 'paint' the dresser I wiped the sponge across the drawers using long strokes to
alleviate any stop/start marks. The paint dries fast so be prepared to work quickly.
It's water based, so if you mess up just add some water to a clean sponge and wash it
 off, or you can always give it a light sanding.



(Hi cute little photobomber)

 After the base coat dried I randomly sprayed the wall texture over the dresser.


Then lightly rub it off to create the splotches of texture.
At this point you can tweak it to get your desired color, I added a few strokes of
brown paint (not chalk paint, just some craft paint I had) in the same method with the
sea sponge.


And continued to tweak it with a little green that I noticed in our inspiration
piece and then soften it with the lighter chalk paint watered down.
I'm sorry I can't be more specific here, it was just a lot of trial and error standing back
looking at it adding paint here and there until we came up with the color we liked.
We didn't end up sealing it with any finish or wax yet, but may still do that at some
point if we feel like it's necessary.




Despite not knowing what I was doing it was a fun project and we ended up
 loving the end result. Thank goodness!

If you'd like you can see how it looks with the rest of the their bedroom makeover:
 Another Craigslist Bedroom Reveal



30 comments:

Cassie Bustamante said...

i have been WAITING for this tutorial! pinned all over the place and love it sooooo much! you are a genius.

Lynda Brandly said...

This is really great and such a unique finish! I love it! Btw, my husband and I both grew up, met, married and had a couple of our children in Denver before we moved away. We still have family there and travel back every year. We live in Michigan now but Denver will always be home. I enjoy your blog!
love and blessings~
Lynda @ Gates of Crystal

Marty@A Stroll Thru Life said...

This piece is totally stunning. Great tutorial.

Debra said...

I love it and will definitely try this technique

Debra said...

I love it and will definitely try this technique

Laurie from Laurie Jones Home said...

Just gorgeous!!! I love it!!

therelishedroost said...

Love love love!!!

Dana Frieling said...

I love your fearless, jump right in and figure it out as you go, spirit! Such a beautiful result!!

Patty Day @Pattys Epiphanies said...

You are amazing! I love that you say you have no idea what you are doing! It's one of the best pieces I've seen. I also love the hardware. Maybe the secret for such success is "not knowing what you are doing".
xo
Patty

René said...

Love how this turned out!

Diana @ Your Day Simplified said...

Wow, I think that turned out better than your inspiration piece. I love all the texture and colors. I'll just have to remember that it is trial and error!

Emily A. Clark said...

Gorgeous!!

Brynne Delerson said...

This is incredible! The faux finishing technique you used is genius! I would never have thought to try the texturing spray! And how perfect that you were able to use the Anthropologie hardware to get so close to your inspiration! Love this!

Crazy Wonderful said...

Eeeeeeee!!!! I have been waiting for this tutorial and about jumped outta my seat when I saw it! It looks so amazing. I'm going to try this on Sam's nightstands asap.

Vel Criste said...

Love it completely! Finding similar pulls was tricky I bet!

Unknown said...

Nicely done!! Love the French weathered grey with the satin gold.

decordelirium said...

Pam it is just gorgeous! I think I like it better than the inspiration piece. Your clients are very lucky! xo

Unknown said...

I love what you’ve done with your pieces, they are so pretty and the photos are beautifully styled.Every time I paint my stuff, I get trouble in how to make the one I paint look smooth and beautiful.

Unknown said...

This is my favorite dresser makeover ever - just gorgeous (and actually much prettier than even the Anthro version!). Using the wall texture spray is genius!

Jennifer @ Dimples and Tangles said...

I can't believe the finish you pulled off on this! Looks incredible!

Unknown said...

You are so resourceful. You did an amazing job achieving Anthro's look. (I like yours even better). We all know you as "Queen of Craigs," but clearly you're also "Dutchess of DIY's." BOTB!

Sharon @ mrshinesclass said...

Absolutely stunning, especially with the final styling.

Julia@Cuckoo4Design said...

It's just so good!

Unknown said...

AMAZING! Girl, you are a genius! I absolutely love it!

Brenda said...

Such a great transformation. Thanks for the tutorial.

Unknown said...

love love love!!!!
one clarification for me please.. did you do a full base coat of both colors first or just use the sponge technique? thanks!!

pam {simple details} said...

Thanks Unknown! :) Just the sponge technique.

Unknown said...

Awesome, thank you! And I'm Brittini by the way.. Not sure why my name isn't showing! ☺️

John777 said...

You really do cool things, this is the type of dresser I came across in a hotel in Taipei. Yes, I recently bought cheap tickets to Taipei, visit the site , hope to capture the cool nature and people. And later I will share impressions and photos with you on my blog of this site. These were incredible impressions.

RED ARROW said...

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