HGTV should be calling at any moment

John and I took on a fun home project recently. I had this old, unfinished dresser from college. It was a hand-me-down from a friend who was graduating and I needed a dresser. It served it's purpose in college and then was stored at my parents' house. I knew it always had potential, but never got around to making it happen. The dresser had random writing on it, a quarter jammed into one of the handles, a screw randomly placed in the dresser that served absolutely no purpose, and other markings that made it have "character." There was no doubt it needed some love.

I did minimal research online about how to stain and finish a dresser. I only have faint memories of sanding one piece of furniture in my childhood (Ky, do you remember this? On the back deck in NJ?) and it seemed like it took 12 hours to sand. I guess it was a big project for kids. We headed to Home Depot to get our supplies and got to work on sanding the dresser. I grabbed the sandpaper, started to sand, and was completely shocked because my body was covered with goosebumps. The sanding process totally creeped me out and I did not expect that reaction at all. Total heebie-jeebies! The friction was like nails down a chalk board. I even have a hard time typing about it right now. John gave me some strange looks and continued to sand, as I continued to have a very adverse and strange reaction to the sanding process. I honestly didn't know if I could continue doing it. I definitely didn't sand as much as John did, but I was able to work up to a pace that was manageable. We stained the dresser and the following day sealed it.

Look how great it turned out! It's amazing what a little TLC can do.

The supplies

Unfinished dresser

I believe it says nice things like, "Devo", "Ratner", and "12/16/94." Then another person came along scribbled "Sucks" next to "Devo." This dresser has been around the block--all before my time.

John removing the randomly placed screw.

All sanded and ready for the stain!

Adding the stain. We went with a dark jacobean stain.

Getting every nook and cranny.

All finished! Even the cats sit and appreciate it.

Finished product.

Peony-scented drawer liners.