I love makeovers. Similar to the way we are made new in Christ, makeovers take something old and worm transforming it into a work of art. Thus my old dresser to toy shelves makeover.
Our current toy storage system was okay, but as little man grew, his toy supply did too. Something needed to change and given the small size of our house I wasn’t sure what to do. Until I got the idea to change an old dresser to toy shelves.
While I had the vision for this makeover, I do not have the skills for it. Painting furniture is not in my set of skills and I’m far too impatient for it. My mother however is amazing with wood and painting and I enlisted her help with my project.
We started with this old beat up dresser. (yes this was back in the fall) I stripped it down and got it ready for painting before sending to my mom.
She chalk painted it and made it all pretty and (off) white for me. Adding a little distressing for detail before waxing it and sending it back up for me to finish.
All shelves need a few containers. I found 3 trays for the top and 3 bins for the bottom. I used a spray adhesive to adhere fabric to my bins.
In hindsight spray adhesive was a poor choice as the fabric did not stick nicely and I’ve had to make repairs. Mod Podge seems to work much better.
Because the shelves were plain, I decided they needed a little pizzaz and used a thinned modpodge (50/50 water/mod podge) to adhere fabric and a burlap ribbon to the shelves. I loved seeing how much different it looked after that!
As for my son? He just LOVES emptying his toy shelves and throwing the toys everywhere (particularly in front of our door). Pretty sure he doesn’t appreciate his nice shelves, but who can expect him to? 🙂
The whole thing looks pretty cool. And don’t you love my fall decor? Hehehe. This post is long overdue for writing, and that’s for sure! I particularly love how my dresser to toy shelves makeover looks under our gallery wall.
Most of all, I’m glad to have his toys nicely organized. Prior to this they were all dumped in one huge tub and he would dump everything out. Now it’s typically one or two different things that get spread all over instead of everything!
Enjoy my Old Dresser to Toy Shelves Makeover? Here’s more inspiration!
I had a question for one of your earlier posts, but when I posted it in comments, I received an email saying that unless I sigh up, you can’t answer my question. I’ve signed up, my question has NOT been answered, and now I am receiving one more email that frankly I don’t need. Who behaves like that?
Hi Christie, I’m not sure what you are referring to. You shouldn’t be getting emails like that at all. Can you tell me where you posted your question?
Kendra just had a baby. I’m sure she will get caught up and will answer your question when she is able to. She has always replied when I’ve asked questions.
That dresser/toy cabinet is lovely! You are very talented. BTW… congratulations on your new baby! 🙂
Hi Kendra! Your project looks great! How do you get the shelves nice and smooth with all the strips in there?
I cut pieces of 1/4″ plywood and glued in there. Then used mud to smooth the seams and such.
Kendra. Very nice job! I always advocate for using dressers in unexpected places. Your too is fabulous.