Turning a Dresser into a Mudroom Entrance Part 1

It was late at night after visiting a friend that I noticed a dresser on the side of the road by the trash.  I begged and pleaded until Hubby pulled over and backed up then reluctantly got out to examine the dresser.  It was solid wood with dovetailed drawers but the back was broken out, along with part of the top.

 The top two drawers were in pieces.  It was perfect!  I had seen a dresser made into a bench on my favorite site, Pinterest, and I was on the lookout for just such a piece. One of the blogs that I now follow has great ideas for repurposing old furniture: My Repurposed Life.
http://pinterest.com/pin/168814686002517379/

 We loaded the dresser into the truck and headed home.  Exactly one of us was very happy.  It got delivered to Star Hill the next weekend and I let it sit for a few weeks without talking about it to Hubby.  I have learned over the last 30 years to let him get used to my ideas before jumping in full force.  As the dresser sat there I started thinking that I would like a mudroom piece for our front entrance instead of just a bench.  I wanted a place sit and take off dirty shoes, a place to hang coats and hats and storage for umbrellas, scarves, gloves (for our two week long winter) and garden shoes.  Those things tend to congregate in our entrance and looking at them scattered across the floor makes me crabby.  I started looking for inspiration on Pinterest and found one that would be perfect.  My favorite is from Simply Seleta's blog. I could use the dresser!
http://pinterest.com/pin/168814686002130703/

 I printed several pictures for Hubby to see.  Another thing that I have learned is that he handles my crazy ideas better if he can see the item that I want.  We took measurements of the dresser and I drew out what I wanted it to look like.  The next step was to start looking for the parts.  I knew I wanted a mirror for the back of the piece. There is already a mirror in our entry way and I like being able to check myself before facing the world.  I also knew that I wanted the drawers to have crystal knobs.  No reason for that except I wanted them.  I found the mirror in a resale shop along with a twin that is an entry way piece for the lovebirds' home.  I got the pair for $20.00.  Sad to say our mirror is going to be cut down and the decorative moulding removed.  It is a beautiful solid wood maple frame and super heavy but it needs to be plain for the piece.  The crystal knobs were in a Huntsville antique shop. 
 I hate to tell you that I paid $3.00 per knob for the four but they were exactly what I wanted.

It was the end of summer season so I was able to get an outdoor cushion on clearance.  The piece is going to be inside the house but remember that I want it for Hubby to use when he comes in from the yard... gross.  The color of the clearance cushion determined the color of the paint.  I loved the color that I found and when I read the name I knew it would be perfect.  Valspar ar1428- Man Cave! http://www.valsparpaint.com/en/explore-colors/index.html

I modified a picture from This Old House Website so that Hubby could see what I was going for.

No lift up lids at the bottom.  Drawers will be used there from the original dresser section.  The top will have false drawer fronts that just lift up to jam stuff in.  http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/how-to/intro/0,,20301255,00.html

The instructions at this site are amazing.  If you are wanting to make something this is definitely the site to look at along with http://ana-white.com/
Both sites have just about any build it yourself project ever thought of.

The first thing that I did was to get the four drawer fronts I will be using on the project ready by filling in the holes from the old hardware.  There was no hardware on the dresser when we rescued it but whatever had been there was loose and has torn up the front of the drawers.  It took three coats of wood filler, sanding between the coats to get the drawer fronts smooth.  I worked on the drawers while waiting for some of my other projects in the Garagemahal to dry. I did not need Hubby for wood filler so this is still part of his getting used to the idea time.  Remember he is not yet in love with my project... but he is warming up to it... I think.