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Plaster & Disaster

Triumph. Tragedy. DIY.

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Picking Hardware for the Dresser: And the Winner Is….

Happy Monday! I was hard at work on the guest room over the weekend, and will have a reveal of the full makeover on Friday! Just in time, too, since Maddie is arriving in less than two weeks. (If you missed Part I of the makeover, where I coated everything in white paint, be sure to check it out.)

Today I have just a quick update to share. In a recent post, I shared one of the guest room projects: painting the dresser a bold shade of green.

Emerald green dresser -- Plaster & Disaster

The project wasn’t quite complete, though, because I still needed to pick new hardware — and I was seriously struggling. So I turned to you, our stylish and talented readers, to give me some advice. I gave you various shapes to consider:

Choosing dresser hardware -- Plaster & Disaster

And then I pleaded with you for some help choosing. I believe my exact words were: “My boat is sinking. Sharks are circling. Insert more terrifying water metaphors here.”

You guys totally delivered, pouring forth with advice. There was a lot of enthusiasm for the brass knobs, but many of you also expressed concern that they might be too small. Some really liked the brass bar pulls. Others wondered if brass wasn’t the right finish.

Well, I’m proud to say that armed with many new perspectives, I made a decision! I shared your worry that the brass knobs would be too small, though I love their shape. I also totally love the brass bars, but worried they would feel too big for the piece. So what did I choose? The brass ring pulls, from Organza Design on Etsy! [Update: Years later, these are no longer available online, sadly!]

Light and airy attic guest room makeover -- Plaster & Disaster

I know they might feel a little “out of period” for the mid-century lines of the dresser, but I’m going with a more classic/”old world” feel in this room (what does that even mean?) and I felt like these really tie into it. Maybe that will make more sense when I share the full room reveal on Friday?

In the meantime, let’s enjoy looking at them.

Emerald green dresser -- Plaster & Disaster

Emerald green dresser -- Plaster & Disaster

Ignore the pathetic styling, I just threw some things on there for the photo but have some other styling plans for the full room reveal/longer term use.

They were $6.99 each, so $42 for all six. Not inexpensive, but not bad for six pieces of hardware to finish off this dresser. By contrast, the bar pulls on the white dresser above were $36 each. EACH. Granted that seems unreasonably high, but it still makes me feel better about my $42 splurge.

As for the process of installing them, it was relatively simple. I wanted the pulls to be centered on each drawer, so first I found the horizontal center point on the top drawer and marked that. Then I used a level to identify and mark the horizontal center points on the two drawers below that. That ensured that the pulls on all three drawers were on the same vertical line.

Dresser makeover -- installing new hardware -- Plaster & Disaster

Then I used a ruler to mark the vertical center point on each drawer, creating a point where the vertical and horizontal centers met. This marked the exact center of each drawer, which I then drilled through with my power drill and installed each pull.

Dresser makeover -- installing new hardware -- Plaster & Disaster

I repeated this process on the three drawers on the other side. Not too hard!

Emerald green dresser -- Plaster & Disaster

So what do you think about my choice?

Emerald green dresser -- Plaster & Disaster

 

(Sharing at August Before and After,  Think and Make Thursdays, Your Turn to Shine Link Party, Remodelaholic,  Two Uses Tuesday,  Totally Terrific Tuesday, Create Link Inspire, Thrifty and Vintage Finds Link Party,  Pin Worthy Wednesday,  Create It Thursday, Weekend Re-Treat Link Party, Pin Junkie Pin Party, I Heart Naptime,  One Project at a Time, Friday’s Furniture Fix, and Tip Me Tuesday)

Comments

  1. 1

    Mary Ann says

    I like your choice a lot. It’s understated and the dresser no longer seems confined to the mid-century modern style. Now it looks more like that eclectic piece you wanted that could blend into any era & will complement the other furniture in the room much better.

    • 4

      Sage says

      Thanks so much Amanda! This whole dresser has been a foray outside my usual decorating comfort zone, and it’s been so fun trying something new!

  4. 7

    Marite says

    Cute cute! I am a fan of getting garage sale/thrift store/ craigslist items and giving them a new life but I’m often indecisive about the update I want to give them. I love how this piece turned out!

    • 8

      Sage says

      Thank you! I sat on this one for about 8 months trying to decide what to do, sometimes you just need to think! 🙂

    • 10

      Sage says

      Thanks Diane! I’m just scrambling on some last minute details and I can’t wait to wrap it up and share it Friday!

  6. 11

    Tracey says

    I love everything about this makeover…love that the brass plates mimic the legs!

    • 12

      Sage says

      Thanks Tracey! I admit, I didn’t even think about the visual relationship between the legs and the brass plates, but you’re so right! I’ll totally pretend that was intentional, you make me look good! 🙂

  7. 13

    Kate says

    I love this refurb, especially the hardware you chose! Where did you get them from? I have recently purchased two mid-century modern items to refurb and have already spent too long looking for hardware for them…

    • 14

      Sage says

      Thanks Kate! I got them from a vendor on Etsy, with a link to their shop in the post (the link is an affiliate link just FYI, definitely be sure to check out our policies page if you want to learn more about what that means!). In general I’ve found Etsy to be a good source for these kinds of things!

  9. 17

    Terry says

    WOW! This dresser looks so good! You made it look like a very high end piece! I would love for you to share it this evening over at my furniture party. It begins tonight at 6:00pm (MST) and closes Saturday evening August 9 at 6:00pm. I hope you will join in :0)!
    Smiles!
    Terry

    • 18

      Sage says

      Thanks Terry! This got caught in our spam filter so I’m just now seeing it — I’m sorry we missed the link party!

    • 20

      Sage says

      Thanks so much, Erica! Green normally isn’t my thing but I was dying to try out a kelly green somewhere and I’m so glad I did!

  11. 21

    Jenna says

    These are a stunning choice and I think they look fab with the dresser. Loving that green, too. I’m sharing this transformation on our weekend features post with a link and credit back to you. We tweet and pin all of our features as well. I can share the link when we go live if you’d like to share on social media as well.

  13. 25

    Embee says

    Here from Two Uses Tuesday- I love the green you chose! The hardware is also really pretty. There were so many cool ones to choose from- I really like the geometric wood knobs. I always have a tough time choosing hardware that goes well with furniture as far as size and shape and color. I bought way too many to try last time and ended up using the original. 😛 Thanks for sharing!

    • 26

      Sage says

      Thank you! It really was such a tough decision, and it has such an influence on the overall feel of the piece. Plus it’s often so expensive. I was just glad to make a decision finally and stop thinking about it 🙂

    • 28

      Sage says

      Thanks so much! Was definitely inspired by a lot of awesome green furniture projects out there in the blogosphere.

  16. 31

    Michelle says

    This was a win, win all the way around. The beat up light blue was already awesome but the green is even more awesome. Visiting by way of two uses Tuesday!

    • 36

      Sage says

      Thanks Stephanie, I’m relieved that the green turned out the way I was imagining it! Color can be so hard to get Just Right. 🙂

  20. 39

    Chrissa - Physical Kitchness says

    SWOON. That color. Seriously. It’s like “hey I’m modern yet vintage and crazy sophisticated”. I love what you’ve done with this! I found your blog on the totally terrific Tuesday link party and I’m so glad I did!

    • 40

      Sage says

      Thanks Chrissa! I totally love the color too, now I’m just trying to figure out how to get more of it in my home 🙂 I’m so glad you found us, and thanks for commenting!

    • 42

      Sage says

      Thanks Jennie! Craigslist is another good option — that’s where I got the dresser that we use as a TV stand in the living room!

  22. 43

    Amberjane says

    I love the makeover and have to pick out hardware for my dresser too – so many choices !! Thanks for linking up to Pin Worthy Wednesday, I have pinned your post to the Pin Worthy Wednesday Pinterest Board.

  23. 45

    Sharon @ Elizabeth & Co. says

    What a beautiful piece! I love mid-century and you really brought it to life with a bold color choice and awesome hardware!

    • 46

      Sage says

      Thank you, Sharon! I love mid0century too, and it was fun to take this one in a bit more of a traditional direction.

  24. 47

    Karen says

    Beautiful color, beautiful hardware!
    I would love for y’all to stop by and share at our Something to Talk About link party that starts every Monday morning!
    Karen

    • 48

      Sage says

      Thanks Karen! Sorry for the slow response, I’ve been on vacation. Looks like a great link party, I’ll definitely be sure to stop by in future weeks!

  25. 49

    Catherine says

    They look great! They mirror the shape of the legs and look much better than the old knobs. Love the green colour, too!

  27. 55

    bree says

    To me, these pulls echo the sharp lines of the legs, which makes them feel like a natural fit. Great choice.

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