When our darling Violet was born in May, we realized that Aliyah Rose’s tiny dresser would have to be replaced with something big enough for two. Luckily a family friend gave us a beautiful wicker dresser she no longer needed; it was elegantly painted in white and gray tones. Oddly enough, Aliyah wasn’t impressed with these sophisticated neutral tones, as her fashion palette tends towards pinks, purples, and “rainbow.”
For unknown reasons we have a stockpile of spray paints in every color you could hope to want, so we let Aliyah pick out her own color scheme. She chose gold for the dresser, pink for the drawers, silver for the bits between the drawers, and copper for the knobs. And glitter *everywhere*. Because, you know, glitter, am I right? Yes, of course I’m right. Moving on….
We carted the dresser outside and set it up on an old furniture blanket. (You can see Aliyah’s learning garden in the background.) Aliyah tried carry the drawers outside all by herself, but quickly realized she needed a little help. Teamwork makes the dream work!
First, Granddad showed Aliyah how to shake up the paint cans. We made sure to count up to 60 or so to make sure the paint was really mixed up well, and Aliyah vigorously shook the cans two-handed until her little arms got tired.
First we painted the dresser itself. The gold paint went on beautifully and Aliyah was pleased with the way it looked.
Granddad let her help hold the spray can, making sure the wind was blowing away from them. As an added precaution, Aliyah wore her mask so she wouldn’t inhale any paint.
After the sides and top of the dresser were done, we got out the silver paint and hit the bars between the the dresser drawers. It’s really hard to tell the difference between the gold and silver parts because of all the glitter, but we assure you that there is silver paint there, lol.
Next, we worked on the drawers. We had two spray cans of pink glitter paint, but they were both nearly empty. We used up both cans very quickly, only giving each drawer a gentle dusting of color. Grams offered — several times — to run to the store for more pink, but Aliyah was oddly satisfied with the smattering of pink. Who am I to argue when a child is being agreeable? However, being the sneaky sneak I am, I sprayed on some extra glitter paint when no one was looking. So now the drawers are a faded pinkish with lots of sparkle. I actually think this is better long term than a heavy handed, in-your-face pink. It will age well as Aliyah grows up, and it will coordinate with a wider range of color schemes as her tastes change.
but before Grams secretly added glitter..
Lastly, we painted the knobs a nice copper color. It adds a finished look to the whole dresser, and makes it uniquely Aliyah’s own. And Violet’s!
Drawer pulls with fresh copper paint. Of course we used glitter paint. Why do you ask?
It looked like rain was coming that evening, so we hauled everything in early and let it finish drying in the living room before schlepping it upstairs. It’s so big we had to wedge it into the closet, and the closet doors *barely* shut across the front of it. It worked out perfectly though, as there is still enough space for child-size clothes to be hung up over the dresser. Taking advantage of the closet helped free up floorspace for the baby crib without disassembling the second twin bed. That allows one of us grownups to nap with Aliyah when she doesn’t want to fall asleep by herself.
We now have plenty of storage space for Aliyah’s princess-astronaut-doctors clothes, and Violet will have equal accommodation for her teeny tiny wardrobe!
Our next project for the girls’ room is to fix the closet doors. They never closed right and could use a fresh coat of paint. We might even paint the inside of the closet because now it looks boring compared to that gorgeous glittery dresser hogging the spotlight!