Roadside Rescue Dresser Turned Entertainment Stand

Have you ever been on your way somewhere and you spot a discarded piece of treasure on the side of the road?

Then you have to rush home and figure out how you're going to ask your loving hubby to take the truck and make a trip to grab it before some other DIY'er nabs it?

Well that is what happened....

He said seriously honey, not again......dont you have enough projects going on?

He graciously agreed and off we went.

All he could say as we were loading it is babe, this is a piece of garbage.

I said It may be a laminate top but I would not call it garbage......just help me load it.

So he did and off we went with a big smile on my face!!

As you can see it was missing all the drawers except for two and I put those on the bottom.

The dresser was not solid wood

but that is OK I saw some potential and I had never painted a laminate piece before so I wanted to dig in and get some practice.

 I took my favorite tool, my sander and sanded all the laminate until it was dull.

I have read that laminate has to be primed so out with the primer.

I wanted a grey undertone since I wanted to paint it barn red and have some grey color showing through after I distressed it.

So I added some black acrylic paint to the primer to turn it grey.

Here she is with the first coat of primer........

Now the second coat of primer just to make sure the laminate is good and covered

after a light sanding .....

it was time for a purdy coat of barn red paint

Once I had the two coast of red paint on

 I lightly sanded..........

I love the way glazing on furniture looks

It gives it a rich antique look

It makes the color pop as well

I chose to Mod-Podge a cool woodsy turquoise paneling scrapbook paper onto the backboard of the dresser/entertainment center.

This is not easy to do for someone who likes things perfect......

because when the paper gets wet those of you that have done this know exactly what I am getting ready to say.

it wrinkles and bubbles up............

you have to be be patient and work it and work it to get out the bubbles and wrinkles.

I have learned to get the worst out and the rest will usually take care of itself once it dries.

I distressed it with some sandpaper so some of the grey would show through.

The inside walls were painted a pretty turquoise color to match the scrapbook paper I put on the back.

I ask my wonderful hubby to cut me some pallet boards down so we could make rustic shelving to replace the missing drawers.

I Love me some pallets that you can get free at so many places.

These come in handy when you need some rustic wood.

I stained and added a semi-gloss poly on them to bring out the grain of the wood.

can you say beautiful!!

All the sliders were removed of course from the side walls when I paint the the yummy turquoise color.

I used the original hardware and spray painted them a color that contrasted with the inside of the dresser/entertainment center.

With a little hard-work and creativity this roadside find turned out beautiful.


My girlfriend Kaye moved into her new home and I gave this to her as a housewarming gift.

She loves it!!

She has it in her living room with her TV on top and all her goodies nestled inside this warm trash turned to treasure.




What have you rescued from the side of the road lately?



Until next time,