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Some of my most favorite things on planet Earth are as follows: glossy paint, faux bamboo anything, vintage furniture and Dr Pepper. That’s me in a nutshell! I stumbled upon this vintage Thomasville Allegro faux bamboo bedroom set on Craigslist last year, and I about fainted. Dramatic much? Probably. But I don’t care, this vintage furniture is hard for me to come by in my area. I snatched it up as quickly as I could, picked out a glossy shade of gray and sipped on my Dr Pepper while doing so. What more could I possibly want?!
Here’s the Craigslist ad photo.
I decided to break up the set and sell the pieces individually. Here’s where I hope I don’t lose you guys as friends and readers….I painted the dresser with spray paint. As in, a rattle can of spray paint. Hear me out! Spray paint sometimes gets a bad rap as being a cheap and/or bad method of painting, but I disagree. When done properly, spray paint can totally give you a professional finish! Before I go on, I will add the after photos so you can see what I mean…..
See how pretty it can look! My favorite spray paint by far is Rust-Oleum! I used 6 cans of Rust-Oleum Protective Enamel in Gloss Smoke Gray.
To prep the dresser I did what I always do with any project, clean it, sand it, prime it, then paint! I used TSP to clean the years of crud off of it. Then sanded the piece with this 220 grit sandpaper. I love this type of sandpaper for curved surfaces because it easily allows me to get into all of the nooks and crannies. After sanding, I sprayed Sherwin Williams ProBlock oil primer and sanded it with 320 grit sandpaper once dried. Then, I shook the can of Rust-Oleum for at least 2 whole minutes and sprayed one even, thin coat over all surfaces. After that dried, I sanded the whole dresser yet again this time with 600 grit sandpaper until it was as smooth as glass. I used a tack cloth to remove all of the dust and sprayed on a second thin, even layer of paint. Tacking the entire surface is a crucial step, so don’t skip it! When spraying, you have to be really careful to not get your can too close to the surface and keep your arm moving at the same rate of speed so you’ll get even coverage. If you don’t have one of these spray paint nozzles, then you should really buy one now! They are a miracle worker. I got one small drip on the leg of it, but once it dried, I simply sanded it down and re-sprayed that one area. And lastly, I also spray painted the hardware for this dresser because the original finish on it would not polish! Rustoleum to the rescue again, I used my favorite go-to gold in a can🙂
Spray paint is an oil base product so the durability is excellent! Don’t get me wrong….I know we have likely all seen some poorly spray painted things before! When it’s bad, it’s BAD. But with some thorough prep work, practice and patience, it can be really good too! The best part is the clean up, just throw the can away! No gun or brush to clean out!
Rattle cans not your thing?? I gotcha, you can check out how I like to spray furniture in a more conventional way here in this post with a stunning, hot pink dresser!
Love this dresser. Thanks so much for linking to Friday’s Furniture Fix. We love having you share. I’m sending this to IG and FB tonight.. Susie
Thanks Susie!!
Kayla! It’s crazy to me that this is SPRAY paint! Wowza! It looks SO good! 🙂
Thanks Rachel! Spray paint can be so awesome and so terrible…I’ve had my share of dud cans that either won’t spray, sprays out what feels like sand paper, splatters, spits etc!!! I think I got lucky on this piece that the cans worked well with little fuss!
You do amazing work! Love it!!
Thank you, Sheila!
Haven’t tried spray paint since about 2005 when I spray painted a coat rack pink!! Haha, maybe it’s time to try it again 🙂 I’m with you on loving the faux bamboo though. We had someone give us a free Henry Link Bali Hai chest of drawers a few years ago, and it made my heart skip a beat!
Someone GAVE you a Bali Hai chest of drawers?!?! Excuse me while I pick my jaw up off the floor!!! What luck!!! Oh my! 🙂
I bought a dresser/night stand at a thrift shop in LA about 12 yrs ago, Thomasville. I had it painted a deep olive/brown gloss, I just adore it! AND, my sister in law gave me another one! I am obsessed with faux bamboo, I wish I had picked up on it earlier. Coming from Florida there was a wealth of it!
What is the TSP cleaner you mentioned above? The finished product is beautiful and I love the color!
Hi Lindsay! TSP stands for TriSodium Phosphate. It comes in a granulated/powder form in a box from a hardware store, I typically buy mine from Home Depot. I mix a strong solution in hot water then with rubber gloves, I use it to wash the surfaces down. It is, by far, the best cleaner I’ve ever used!!
It’s absolute perfection. I’m “Smoke Gray” with envy!!
Our home is filled with Goodwill and Craigslist treasures. Three cheers for spray paint, fabric and grasscloth!
Thank you for sharing.
Inspirationally yours,
Kathy
Thanks Kathy!! Isn’t spray paint wonderful!!! Love it:) Thanks for your comment
I love this post!! My grandmother left me this exact Thomasville Allegro bedroom set. I’ve been lugging it around for 15+ years, hating the pale yellow color. I’ve finally decided to paint it, and started doing research and voila! I found YOUR site. Your piece is absolutely gorgeous and I love that you used the original hardware.
I plan to paint my set a deep, gorgeous navy-ish blue. (Color inspiration photo here: http://re-tiqued.blogspot.ca/2015/01/a-new-topcoat-technique-and-lottery-win.html)
There are 1,000 spindles on the KING SIZE headboard, so I love the idea of spray painting it.
A few questions for you, as I’m a total newbie.
Did you prep the white top the same way you did the wood? Sand, tack cloth, primer, paint?
How many coats of spray paint did you use on this piece?
After spray painting, did you also put some sort of poly/lacquer on these pieces?
Thank you so much in advance for your help. You’re a total inspiration!
Jules, I’m so glad you found my blog for inspiration on your pieces! Yes, I prepped the white top in the same way, just sand it really, reallllly well. I did one coat of primer (then sanded it) and two coats of gray. No top coat needed. Good luck to you!! If you post your piece on IG or FB tag me so I can see:) xo
Thanks for the reply. I’ll absolutely tag you…!
I just need to find a spray paint in my color and I’m all set!
is the white top laminate? I have a similar buffet, table and chairs. The top of the table and buffet are both white laminate.
I am assuming I remove the laminate and sand the adhesive to the wood. I was worried some glue residue would prevent that beautiful glossy finish on top.
I have this dresser! How did you peep the white “plastic” top? And where did you get the hardware? Love it!
Hey Jessica! I prepped the top the same as the rest of it, sanded REALLY well with an electric Palm sander, then primed and painted. The hardware is all original to the piece! xo
Awesome, Good to know!! I hope my piece will come out as gorgeous as yours!
I bought a cabin style home with a cathedral ceiling, and natural wooden walls in the Appalacian Mountains. The previous owner built this cabin. His late wife had a passion for Thomasville Faux Bamboo Furniture and he moved it all to the cabin when he built it. The house was sold furnished. Most of the furnishings I will be getting rid of; but I am struggling. with getting rid of the bamboo furniture. I am having a hard time knowing how to make it work in this house. Possibly painting it is the solution. I have a living room set complete with very large square coffee table, two end tables, with beveled glass, behind sofa console table, plant stand., china cabinet, and serving table, 6 pc bedroom set like yours in mint condition, including mamasan chair, and several picture frames.
My focus is on the living room at this time. I am looking at new furniture to create a “lodge” look.
Do you think I can paint the now white bamboo furniture maybe a shade of brown and pull it off? Since you have a passion for this furniture I thought I would ask your opinion. The few people I have asked said I could not achieve the look I want with white bamboo 1960 style tables.
Hi Sheryl,
Thanks for your question. This is my take on it, please keep in mind it’s only my personal opinion. Faux bamboo and lodge style cabin home don’t really mix well. I’m all for eclectic interiors, but these are two styles that I just cannot see meshing well together. Painted or not, I just think the bamboo furniture won’t “fit” with your home. Like I said, just my two cents on the matter! Good luck with your decision, I hope you’ll come back with an update!! xo
How did you get the hardware to be a satin brass finish? I have the same piece and my hardware is dull and has white paint rubbed in the grooves.
Rustoleum gold spray paint!!
I hope you are still replying to this thread ????. We received a lovely dresser from my in laws but the wood finish doesn’t fit quite right in our room. I want to attempt to refinish it like yours. What sander would you recommend?
Hi,
I love what you did with this piece. How did you remove the drawers for painting?
Thanks
This is my childhood bedroom furniture from the 70s. I still have it and love it. My parents would not get me a canopy bed like all my friends had. They wanted to get me furniture that would last. Now I’m so glad I did. I gasped when I saw that you had painted it. I dpnt know if I could bring myself to do that, but it’s beautiful.
This is my childhood bedroom furniture from the 70s. Mine is antique white and the headboard is different. I still have it and love it. My parents would not get me a canopy bed like all my friends had. They wanted to get me furniture that would last. Now I’m so glad I did. I gasped when I saw that you had painted it. I dpnt know if I could bring myself to do that, but it’s beautiful.
I have the dresser, tall chest of drawers, headboard, two nightstands, and a desk with tall secretary thing on top, and a desk chair.
Hi ,
I have the same yellow furniture. I was wondering what did you do for the brass handle to look that color? Did you dip them in a product?
Thank you
If they won’t come clean, then we use Rustoleum gold spray paint!
Are you sure it was smoke grey? I used that paint today on a similar project and am looking at a much lighter grey color. Hopping rust oleum didn’t change the formula.
Hi Alexis, yes, I’m positive it was Rustoleum Smoke Gray. This was quite a few years ago…I guess it’s possible that the color formula has changed. But I can’t say for sure because I’ve not looked at Rustoleum in stores in ages. xo
Hi there! I struck gold and found a thomasville allegro dresser and chest of drawers that I plan to redo similar to this. I love the laquer look but would rather this quicker spray paint solution that you did. Quick question, did you prep the top the same as the rest of the surfaces? Also, do you think I could top it off at the end with some type of clear high close top coat?