Vintage dresser makeover for storage and lighting for a beautiful and rich Pooja room (prayer room) during the Fall 2021 One Room Challenge

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During the third week of the Fall 2021 One Room Challenge, I added storage in Pooja Room with an easy vintage dresser makeover project and installed a beautiful chandelier for lighting.

If you aren’t familiar with what the One Room Challenge (ORC) is, it’s a biannual interior design event hosted by Linda at Calling it Home. There are 20 featured designers and others with a blog or an Instagram account can participate as a guest. Everyone gets 8 weeks to makeover a room of their choice and share their progress weekly.

You can see all the featured designers here and all the guest participants here.

VINTAGE DRESSER MAKEOVER FOR STORAGE

In the Hindu religion and culture, we celebrate a myriad of festivals throughout the year. Every one of them comes with its own set of rituals and requirements in terms of decor, food, ceremonies, and so on. 

Therefore, it is important that I incorporate some sort of storage in the Pooja Room. 

As I was browsing through Facebook Marketplace, I found a gorgeous dresser for just $40 and it occurred to me that this would be the perfect storage piece that I need for the Pooja Room.

Without wasting any time, I contacted the seller and bought it. It was a bit of a drive, but totally worth it because the dresser was in perfect condition!

I just needed to transform the dresser to match the aesthetic of the Pooja Room. 

Here are the basic steps in this vintage dresser makeover project.

1. Cleaning and Prepping
2. Sanding and Priming
3. Painting 
4. Finish

CLEANING AND PREPPING

The first step in any furniture transformation should always be cleaning. You never know where it’s been and how it was used. That’s what I started with too.

I removed all the drawer pulls and kept them aside along with the hardware. I wanted to put the same pulls back, so I did not bother to fill the nail holes.

Next, I vacuumed the dresser and drawers to eliminate any dust and debris.

Then, I gave the dresser and the drawers a good wipe-down with Dixie Belle Paint’s White Lightning Cleaner. Any good TSP cleaner will do for cleaning.

Do not skip this step! Also, be sure to wear gloves while cleaning.

Once the dresser was completely dry, I gave it another wipe-down with plain water. I used a spray bottle and microfiber cloth for both the cleaner and water to make my job easier!

SANDING AND PRIMING

The next step in transforming this dresser is sanding and priming.

I used this sander and 180 grit sandpaper to give the dresser and the drawer fronts to lightly scuff sand. This step is an essential part of flipping furniture as the sanding gives the paint something to adhere to.

Here is what it looked like after sanding. I then cleaned it with a damp microfiber cloth to remove the sanding dust and let it dry.

Next, I used Dixie Belle Paint Slick Stick primer and a chip brush to prime the dresser and the drawers.

I usually do 2 coats of primer. I put the first coat on, waited for about 3 hours, and put the second coat on. After the second coat, I let it dry overnight.

PAINTING

Painting is my favorite step when transforming a piece of furniture. I feel that’s when you see an old piece coming back to life 😊

Before painting though, I need to choose the color. Normally, I spend some time on this decision, but this time around, it was easy. 

I decided to paint it a green that would be similar to the accent wall in order to create some visual balance in the room.

I think it worked out pretty well, if I may say so myself 😊

But this process did not go without some glitches. I’ll share them so that you don’t make the same mistakes that I did.

I initially picked up Valspar paint meant for cabinets and furniture from the local hardware store and got it color matched to the accent wall color.

The first coat I applied went on too blotchy! I thought a second coat might help, but no luck! I painted a small section and the second coat was as bad as the first 😔

This is when I decided to call it quits with that paint. I did not want to keep on experimenting.

I then ordered this chalk-based paint and this time, I definitely did get lucky 😊

One the color was gorgeous and two, the painting went so well!

Before using this paint though, I scuff sanded the old paint – first with 180-grit sandpaper and then with 220-grit sandpaper. I used this sander. Then I cleaned up the sanding dust with a damp microfiber cloth.

I then applied 2 coats of this gorgeous green to the dresser and the drawer fronts. I applied the first coat, let it dry for about 3 hours or so, and applied the second coat.  Here is what it looked like after the first coat.

Applying 2 coats gave me a beautiful finish.

Remember, I had taken out the drawer pulls before.

Now it is time to clean and paint them. I gave them a good cleaning with the same cleaner and rinsed them in plain water. I wiped them down with a clean cloth and let them dry completely.

Then I spray painted them in gold.

FINISHING THE VINTAGE DRESSER MAKEOVER

The paint I used probably does not need a top coat, but this transformed dresser will be used frequently and so I wanted to protect it with a top coat.

I applied a very thin coat of this satin top coat on the dresser and drawer fronts to protect the paint.

Now all that was left to do is put everything back together. I added the drawer pulls to all the drawers and then added the drawers to the dresser.

The result was breathtaking! The combination of rich green and gold is absolutely beautiful, don’t you think?

Pin this vintage dresser makeover project for later!

LIGHTING

Once the dresser transformation was complete, I decided to add lighting to the room.

Again, going with the theme of this room, I chose this simple gold chandelier to complement the other elements in this room.

I wanted the lighting to be functional, elegant, yet beautiful and this piece accomplishes just that!

I installed the lighting myself and if you are not confident, I highly suggest that you hire a professional to do this part.

Here are the steps involved in adding lighting

1. Assemble the chandelier
2. Switch off the power at the breaker
3. Install the light
4. Switch on the power and test
5. Enjoy the lighting

Let’s start with the assembly.

ASSEMBLY

The light that I got came with clear instructions for assembly and also a few pieces of tube to adjust the height of the chandelier.

I just held up the tubes and decided on the height I wanted. I ended up using only one tube.

All I had to do was to thread the wires through the tubing and the chandelier was ready for installation.

Normally, lights come with black, white, and neutral wires. This light fixture came with two black wires, but they were clearly labeled.

I retained the labels and then cut the wires using a wire cutter to a length that would be suitable for installation.

I put them a little longer than required to accommodate any additional adjustments.

POWER OFF

This step is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!

Cut power to the room at the breaker and not just the light switch.

Our breaker is in the garage luckily our builder has named each switch clearly. So I was able to turn the switch to an off position easily.

Otherwise, this step may take a bit of trial and error. 

INSTALL THE LIGHT FIXTURE

Next, I came back to the Pooja Room and opened the cover plate to install the chandelier.

If you already have a light installed previously, you will need to remove that before you install the new light fixture. 

Before removing an existing light fixture or installing a new one, be sure to check that there is no electricity flowing through the wires using a tester. Once you are sure that there is no current, proceed with the installation.

I attached the base plate that came with the chandelier first.

Then, my husband held up the light fixture and I carefully attached the black to the live wire, white to neutral, and copper to the ground. I then covered the joins using a plastic cap.

I then added the beautiful flames shaped bulbs to the fixture.

Before I installed the cover plate of the light fixture, my husband turned on the power briefly to test that the light is working.

Once we knew it was working, he immediately turned it off so I could complete the installation.

I then attached the cover plate and added the tiny screw caps that came with the fixture to hold that cover plate in place.

The installation was complete

POWER ON

Now it was time to switch the power back on and enjoy my new lighting!

Here is what the light fixture looks like in the room. Isn’t it beautiful? 

That’s it for now. Please do join me on the exciting journey as I transform our prayer room into a beautiful and rich sanctuary!

Do let me know what you think of the transformed storage dresser and lighting.  

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