I got a vanity years ago at a market, but I’ve always wanted to repaint it. The blue was a decent color, but the distressed “country” look was never my thing.

So when I decided to get a small dresser to keep next to it but couldn’t find one that fit in both size and style; this seemed like the right opportunity to fix up both.

I ordered a small white dresser (right size, wrong color) from Amazon, looked up several tutorials online, and talked to some employees at Guiry’s, a local paint/art supply store. My original vision was a dark peacock with lacquer finish, but I found that to even imitate that thick, shiny layer you need a lot of equipment I just don’t have (who has a wet sander lying around?). So! Plan B!

I spread out a tarp on my balcony and spent a few days sanding, painting, and doing a LOT of layers of glossy varnish. In the end…

Huzzah! Much more my style, and now with storage!

(I do have a seat that matches the set, and I painted it as well, but one of the legs broke ages ago. It would be an easy fix if I had the right tools to cut a new brace to screw into one of the corners. Someday I’ll remember to bring it out to Junction or I’ll ask one of my friends with garages and tools and such if I can borrow their saw for a few minutes. Until then, the black cube works for a seat.)