Dresser Repair: From Sketchy to Sturdy

This dresser was hiding a secret.

The drawers were badly damaged.

So much so that several were not structurally sound. Before I could makeover this dresser for my client, I had to do some repairs.

For some drawers, all I needed to do was to add wood glue to the joints and hammer in additional nails where the originals had failed.

But this drawer needed the entire side replaced. As you can see on the right, the entire corner was missing. Since it included the groove that held the drawer base in place, this was a problem!

First, I cut a new piece of wood using the old piece as a size guide.

Then I routed a new channel for the base of the drawer to slide into. Here it is, in progress.

Then I nailed the new drawer side to the frame of the drawer.

And voila! A repaired drawer!

Before getting to the pretty parts of makeovers, there are always steps like this. The cleaning and repairs aren’t the “fun” parts, but there’s no point in dressing up a faulty piece of furniture. Another step I’m not crazy about is scraping and sanding but, again, it’s essential for a good result.

Starting with a fresh, smooth surface means getting a professional result with the paint. The dark deteriorating finish of this dresser (right) meant I had to completely remove the finish (left) to avoid the stain or wood tannins from bleeding through the new paint.

Why paint and not stain? I actually like the look of painted pieces with stained tops. But sometimes the top just isn’t salvageable, as here, or the wood isn’t of high enough quality to merit stain. Paint it is!