How To Transform a Mid-Century Modern Chest of Drawers Into an Industrial Steampunk Statement Piece
Mid-Century Modern Chest of Drawers Makeover Using Dixie Belle’s Moonshine Metallic Paints to Give it an Industrial Look
by Kim Hansen, Co-Founder and Artist, JK Hansen Studios
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ON THE HUNT AGAIN!
I love to get creative when transforming used furniture pieces. This time I had a specific project in mind. I was on the hunt for a used piece of furniture to transform into an industrial steampunk style statement piece. I have a specific customer base who love industrial steampunk style furniture and my pieces have a history of selling out quickly.
My go-to places to look for used furniture are local online sales groups, thrift stores, garage sales and estate sales.
I found this used mid-century modern chest of drawers for sale in a local online group. It was a little scratched up, but very sturdy. The five dovetail drawers opened and closed smoothly. I immediately pictured how I would transform it. Dixie Belle Paint company has a line of Moonshine Metallic paints with several different colors I would be using for this project. I contacted the seller and negotiated the sale. I was excited to begin its makeover!
PRODUCTS AND PREPPING THE CHEST OF DRAWERS FOR ITS INDUSTRIAL STEAMPUNK MAKEOVER!
STEPS
- I ordered the craft gears, unfinished half wooden beads for the rivets, and the industrial pipe drawer pulls from Amazon. (Shop here)
- I gathered my products and supplies to start the transformation.
- I removed the knobs and drawer pulls.
- I lightly hand sanded the top and any rough edges.
- I cleaned the chest of drawers with soap and water then wiped it dry.
TIME TO HAVE SOME FUN!
I used faux craft gears and faux rivets (half wood craft beads) which will give the finished piece an industrial look.
Before I began painting I drew out a plan of where I wanted to place the faux gears and rivets on the chest of drawers which would eventually give the finished piece the industrial look. Next I transferred the design and measurements to the front of the drawers and both sides of the chest of drawers. I glued the faux gears and rivets in to place.
(TIP: I used Tacky Glue at first. But after painting the first base coat on the dresser the paint loosened the faux rivets and a few fell off. However, the gears stayed in place. So after the first base coat was dry I went back and glued each wood half bead (faux rivet) on to the dresser using furniture glue.)
TIME TO PAINT!
Using my two-inch paint brush I hand painted two coats of Dixie Belle’s Gravel Road Chalk Mineral Paint over the entire exterior of the dresser, including the faux gears, rivets and top of the dresser. Then allowed it to dry.
(See TIP above. Use Tacky Glue for the faux gears and furniture glue for the faux rivets.)
FAUX METAL LOOK
To achieve the metal look I used Dixie Belle Moonshine Metallics Pacific and Steel Magnolia paints, Modern Masters Metallic Copper, and Dixie Belle Caviar Black Chalk Mineral Paint for depth and shadowing. Using a separate round paint brush for each color I began by dipping the brush into its assigned paint color starting with Pacific, followed by Copper, then Steel Magnolia. Working quickly I switched back and forth between the paint colors applying each in a swirling motion and overlapping the edges to blend the colors together. I then applied small amounts of Caviar Black in different areas to create depth. The light reflecting off the metallics adds drama and a Kaleidoscope of colors.
Working in small areas I used Dixie Belle’s Bronze Patina to paint over the previously drawn lines between the faux rivets as well as the edges to give the piece a worn rusted metal look. Immediately after applying the Bronze Patina I took a squirt bottle filled with water and sprayed on a fine mist of water over the Bronze allowing the water to pick up a bit of the Bronze so it would run down the dresser then took a rag and blotted up the excess.
Using a combination of Dixie Belle Caviar Black Chalk Mineral Paint, Dixie Belle Bronze Patina and Modern Masters Copper Metallic I hand painted large stencil numbers on both sides of the chest of drawers.
On the front of the drawers, using different size stencils, I handed painted the words THE MACHINE, FLEXIBLE TROLLEY, and U.S.A.
I painted each faux rivet with Dixie Belle Moonshine Metallics Steel Magnolia paint to match the industrial pipe drawer pulls.
The top was hand painted using a combination of black and Dixie Belle Moonshine Metallic Pacific.
KNOBS AND PULLS
I kept the old drawer knobs from the top two drawers and spruced them up by hand painting each of them with Dixie Belle Moonshine Metallics Steel Magnolia paint. The original bottom three drawer pulls were replaced with industrial pipe drawer pulls purchased from Amazon.
FINAL STEP!
The next morning — to protect this newly transformed, one-of-a-kind Industrial Steampunk chest of drawers — using lint free cheesecloth I applied two coats of Rust-Oleum Chalked Protective Topcoat Matte Clear over the painted areas and three coats to the top.
DONE!
Mid-Century Modern Chest of Drawers Transformed into an Industrial Steampunk Style Statement Piece!
Five Dovetail Drawers With Ample Room for Storage
CONCLUSION
When you are shopping for a used piece of furniture to repurpose and transform – think outside of the box. As the saying goes ‘one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.’ Keep in mind – the piece of furniture you choose to makeover will be a one-of-a-kind piece of art. You can never make a mistake!
I hope I have inspired you for your next DIY project!
If you have a question, please feel free to contact me, or leave a comment below. Your feedback is always appreciated.
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The products I used for this project can be purchased online in our Amazon Shop.
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Be sure to visit our Etsy Shop to see what other pieces of art I have created.
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HOW TO VIDEOS: JK Hansen Studios’ YouTube Channel: Subscribe here
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