{slimmed down dresser}

This little dresser used to be white, white little flowers painted on the front of the drawers. It began as a piece of furniture from my childhood bedroom set. The hutch (which is now in my craft room) was also part of the set. When I was 18, I decided I was so over the white, flowery motif, so I painted the set black. Being the furniture re-do rookie that I was at the time, I didn't sand or prime, I just painted. I started from the bottom and worked my way up, and when I began painting the glossy, laminate top, I realized the paint wasn't sticking, so I wiped it off and left it glossy white. And it's stayed that way for years, usually with a table runner covering the not so lovely laminate.

When we moved into our new home, I wasn't sure where to put the dresser. It just didn't seem to fit anywhere I wanted it. The depth was what really bothered me, as it jutted out in spaces I thought it would look cute. So, to solve the problem, I did what any handy gal would do.

I cut it in half.

My tool of choice was a circular saw, naturally. If you've never used one before, it's time to get your tool on (...i know, but don't say it...this is a PG rated blog folks), because they're awesome!.
After taking out the drawers, I just measured the depth I wanted to saw off and went from there.

After it was sawed in half, I took the wood that was in the back of the dresser and reattached it to the slimmed down dresser, so I could make some shelves.

We used 1/4" mdf for the shelves and cut them with a jigsaw. I also attached some molding to the front to hide the plain wood slats.

Finally after a fresh, new coat of paint (yes, I sanded the heck out of the laminate top & used a no sand primer to help it stick), and some new baskets from Ikea, the new dresser looks fabulous!