Our new dresser really did not need anything done to it, besides a good cleaning. There was hardly any scratches, dings, or discoloration in the finish. We lucked out!
But there was one problem I could not live with...the lining in the drawers.
It was this dated sea shell contact paper. Yuck.
There was also an odor that smelled like a perfume or powder that was very strong. So, my Saturday night was filled with ripping out the remaining liner and scrubbing drawers.
I considered leaving the drawers with nothing in them, but the adhesive from the contact paper left a film and took off some of the finish in the drawers.
Remembering a post I saw on Young House Love, I decided to make a trip to Michael's for Mod Podge and pretty paper. I found the Mod Podge, but no pretty paper. I did not want something too girly or too boyish. Our purpose of this dresser is for storage in our office. Later, we would like to move it to a nursery when we decide to have little ones. Then it dawned on!
In college, I had purchased this awesome rice paper for a project, that I ended up never using. This was the exact look I was going for!
The only problem, I did not have enough to line all nine drawers.
I started finding other pieces of rice paper that I never used!
I quickly got to work!
Ugh...stupid lighting! Sorry, me and my flash were not getting along.
I am very pleased with the outcome! The Mod Podge created a transparent look with the paper. It gave a very natural and interesting look! One thing to warn anyone who has not worked with Mod Podge before, the smell is not best. I had to stop after awhile and walk away from it, but it is a non toxic material.
The only problem I am left with, the odor that was originally left in the drawers. Does anyone know how to get the smell out of drawers? Scrubbing with Murphy's Oil Soup did not work and neither did relining the drawers. Any advise would be great!
11 comments:
Looks great! Maybe try Febreeze?
Yuk! That smell must be gross.
I'd put some sachets of lavender in the drawers.
There are other great tips in the house blog forums, too!
awesome job on the dresser -
maybe cedar chips? or scented drawer thingees? or removing all the drawers and letting them air out on the floor?
I think it looks great! The patterns are nice and neutral. Thumbs up!
LB
Looks great!
How about baking soda? Pour some in a few small bowls and stick them in those drawers for a few days. It should definitely help to suck up some of those unwated odors!
love the paper in the drawers!
as for the smell, you could try washing the drawers with vinegar (if you haven't already) - it's supposed to remove odors. other than that, i'd suggest removing & airing them out. i've also heard that deactivated charcoal helps & we've got bowls of the stuff in our closets... seems to kind of help get rid of the smoky smell left by the previous owner...
Nice job! It looks great! As for the smell... maybe dryer sheets?
Try cedar chips, but don't spend crazy money on all those preformed cedar goodies they have at the hardware store. Buy a chunk of lumber and hack it up. When you need to release more cedar goodness, sand them a bit.
Thanks everyone for the awesome tips! Since I haven't been able to tend to the drawers yet, I have been just leaving them open to air out. Hopefully that will help a little until I can try some of your methods
I like Eric's tips of using small sachets of lavender or ceder should help absorb the smell
I'd try essential oils in a piece of fabric/sachet. Good luck. They look super cute!
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