Wizard of Oz Dresser

What kid doesn't love The Wizard of Oz? By the age of 10, I had the entire cassette tape (with songs and dialogue) memorized. I'd recite it on long road trips across various continents, driving the people in the car nuts! (Sorry guys). My daughter now loves the movie and her reaction to my skill of knowing the whole thing by heart is in stark contrast to my childhood experience because she readily accepts it and begs me to recite all the dialogue and sing all the songs. I LOVE IT. 

In my first few months of blogging, I came across this post over at Inspired by Charm, called "Ode to Oz." I have never forgotten it and still think it is one of the most clever ideas ever.  

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Everything on this cupboard alludes to The Wizard of Oz. Perfection.

Ok, back to my dresser.

Down below you can see it peeking out of the corner in Ivy's room

Here's a head-on shot, totally under-exposed:

This dresser belonged to my aunt and she had it since she was 18 years old. We ended up with it after she moved back to the mainland and I promised her I would keep it in the family and in great condition. It worked in Ivy's room for a time, but the drawers were hard for her to open and she couldn't really reach the top ones. Also, what 4 year old needs 6 drawers for their clothing?

So I decided I was going to put it in my room. Some of the paint was chipping off and the gorgeous key holes had been painted right over, and it just needed some TLC and new life. So I started to peel back a little of the paint, and discovered we were dealing with 3 coats of paint!

Top layer: cream. 2nd layer: bright yellow. 3rd layer: forest green. 4th layer: solid wood.

This stuff did not want to come off. I fought it and fought it. Splinters, cuts, chemical burns, sore shoulders, you name it, I endured it to get down to the wood. I actually left a little bit of the green on it in places, and then dry brushed some off-white (shiloh) because I wanted it to show through under the black to give it depth. It was so fun to sand those key holes because they came out bright shiny gold.

For some reason I'm painting all our furniture black. Well, this is only the second piece I've done, but I'm a little obsessed. I've been using Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint in Typewriter. Here's a link to the other dresser I painted black: click here. I covered up the key hole with painter's tape and used a razor blade to cut perfectly around it so I could paint smoothly. Look at that workmanship!!

In comparison to the body of the piece, the drawers were a piece of cake. To get the 3 coats of paint off the body, I had to call in the authorities.  

My dad had out every tool he owns. I learned a lot about power tools that day.  

I discovered a little bondo/wood filler on the bottom right of the piece, but other than that it was pretty awesome all bare like that!

I dry brushed on a little more shiloh, on top of the splotchy green, then covered it all in black. 

The inside of the drawers needed some attention as they were rough and had some stains. I used clear shellac and some cute fabric to line the inside. I also painted the outside sides of the drawers in shiloh to give it a clean look when you opened and closed them. That white thing on the inside is washi tape covering the sharp end of the knobs so it doesn't tear my clothes. 

These knobs are the Green Faucet Metal Knobs from Hobby Lobby. On sale now for $2.99!

I used Miss Mustard Seed's Hemp Oil on the entire piece, then went over that with her Furniture Oil. I LOVE her Furniture Oil. I'm still getting used to the smell of the Hemp Oil. It's very earthy. :)

So here it is in our master bedroom. 

That black and white photo on the wall is from Urban Outfitters.

The pink Maui print is from Ashley Johnston Design.

It's at the foot of the bed, flanked by pieces of my husband's art, which we just moved in there. I have the Grey accent chair I blogged about here to the right of it. 

So, why call it "The Wizard of Oz" dresser? Here's my reasons:

1. The name "6 drawer dresser" is boring.

2. Those green knobs are something I could see Uncle Henry using on the farm

3. It came to me in a very mono-chromatic cream color, and it's now black, alluding to the first 17 minutes of the movie which are completely sepia toned.

4. Once I dug a little deeper I came across a layer of yellow paint: the Yellow Brick Road

5. The Yellow Brick Road led to the green layer of paint, the Emerald City

6. Once I went through all of that, we're back to the safety of our black and white sepia home.

And that's the story of my Wizard of Oz dresser.

One last tip. Per my husband's advice, I've been using a bar of soap to make sure my solid wood drawers go in and out with ease. It works like a charm. Anywhere on the drawers or on the body of the dresser that's going to slide wood to wood, you slide the soap along it. Make sure it's oil free. Scented is ok. :)

Aloha,

Rebecca