Restoration Hardware Recreation Disaster... well almost!

If you are like me... you may love Restoration Hardware but you do not love the prices!  To be honest I'm kind of sick of them.  I've decided to take matters into my own hands and recreate some of their looks.  

Restoration Recipe: 

Restoration Hardware Price: $2990 

WPG's Price:  $450 


Time: 4 hours

Tools you may need:
Hammer
Screw driver
Phillips head screw driver
Wood Glue 
Electric sander
Sand paper (in 220, 100 & 80 grit)
Damp old towel
Blower or vacuum
Mod Podge
Newspapers
Ralph Lauren (or another brand) acrylic metallic paint
Foam brushes (disposable)
New knobs



Start:  Find some old dressers for a great price - that are in pretty good condition!

Prep Work: 

1.  Start by taking off the old hardware
2.  Sand the old finish off.  For the new paint to stick, it can't be shiny.  Any small areas, fold use the sand paper.  If it is looking real scratchy then you need to use a lighter sand paper grit.  The lower the number the more coarse, so use a higher number if it is scratching.  Click here to answer any sanding questions you might have!
3.  Get out the blower!  I loved using the blower to clean our all of the drawers and get rid of the old spider webs and any bugs that might be in the dressers!  Plus it got rid of the sanding residue... :)
4.  Wipe down the entire dresser with a damp cloth to get the rest of the "sand" off. 

This is also the time to make any repairs - for example I had to reattach the backing in some areas on one dresser.  I also repaired two of the legs with new screws and some wood glue (tie the area tight with string & let it dry for a while).  

Why not Paper Mache...

I decided to Paper Mache the dressers so they would look more like "metal" after the paint...  This was also my first time to Paper Mache - I loved it by the way!

1.  Cut strips of newspaper or any other paper you want to use
2.  Apply the Mod Podge to the area you are going to apply the paper (one section at a time)
3.  Place the paper over the "glue" and then spread more Mod Podge over the paper and smooth out the air bubbles. 
4.  Continue this over the entire dresser. 

This was the result - which looks really cool! You leave it like this!  But just apply an acrylic sealer over the paper so it will last! 

 

  
Time to Paint! 

1. Get your painting supplies out!  I used Ralph Lauren's Metallic Paint in RL - 03
2. I like the black sponge brushes because they are easy to use & give a pretty good finished look. 
3. Apply 2-3 coats until you cannot see the wood or in this case the paper through the paint.

And here it is... The Duck Tape Dresser!

I think it could have been cool if I had done larger pieces of paper and smoothed the wrinkles better.

The Pretty One: 

So........  I tried it out with just paint on the other dresser. 

It looked MUCH better!  :)  Now I just have to add the knobs... and re-do the duck-tape dresser!

In the end, I decided a paper mache dresser looks cool but just not with the paint over it (or at least not the way I did it).  I definitely think this replaced the Resoration Hardware nightstands because I made them myself, saved a ton of money and they will still give the same look to any room! 

Let me know your thoughts?  Which one do you like... be honest?

Only one more project to go before unveiling the completed WPG master bedroom! 

Thanks for stopping by!