Ombre bedside drawers

Use stain and colour to easily refresh a dated bedside drawer unit.

Resene upcycling for good with Sarah Herring - Project 66

You will need

• Sandpaper or electric sander
• Test pot brushes and an old soft cloth for wiping off stain
• Resene Quick Dry waterborne primer undercoat
• Resene testpots in your choice of colours; Sarah chose Resene Permanent Green, Resene Rivergum and Resene Half Secrets
• Resene Colorwood testpot in your choice of colour; Sarah chose Resene Bark
• Resene Aquaclear Natural

Instructions

Top tip:  If you have two children sharing a room, let them help choose the Resene colours so that their clothes go in the drawers of the colours they chose. This helps children to quickly remember which drawer is which.

Step one:  Check for any repairs that are needed, then sand with some sandpaper or electric sander to remove any old stain if present. Apply Resene Quick Dry over the old colour, if required. Sarah’s wooden drawers were sturdy and in great condition, but looked very dated. A prior warm stain was wearing off, and stickers had been applied to the exterior. Sarah started by giving them a good sand with an electric sander. Some elbow grease and sandpaper would have done the trick just fine too.

Step two:  Apply one coat of Resene Quick Dry waterborne primer undercoat to the front faces of the drawers using a testpot brush.

Step three:  Once the undercoat is dry, choose three colours for your drawers and apply two coats of each colour using a testpot brush. Sarah chose three paint colours in complementary gradual shades of green - Resene Half Secrets, Resene Rivergum, and Resene Permanent Green, one for each drawer. You could create your own tonal colour palette or opt for more contrasting colours.

If you are painting a tallboy with more drawers you could always select a couple of extra shades to continue the ombre theme.

Step four:  While the drawers are drying, apply your chosen Resene Colorwood stain to the outer frame of the drawers. Sarah used Resene Bark. Staining can be tricky if you haven’t done it before. A good tip is to apply the stain directly with a clean testpot brush or speed brush, and while it is still wet, wipe it over the timber with a clean soft rag. The stain must be wet when you wipe it with the cloth, or you will end up with patches where it has dried. Sarah applied three coats of stain to this piece as she wanted a rich, dark colour. For a lighter finish apply fewer coats.

Step five:  Apply three coats of Resene Aquaclear Natural to the drawers and the frame, to protect the stain and paintwork. Sarah chose this product because she wanted a totally matt, almost invisible finish! But if you wanted to go for a glossier topcoat, you might prefer to use Resene Aquaclear urethane varnish in satin, semi-gloss or gloss.