Dressing Table with Transfer Makeover (2024)

Welcome back, beautiful friends! I’m so excited to be sharing the dressing table with transfer makeover that matches the chair I shared on Tuesday! That was a fantastic find for only $3, and you can see the before and after of it HERE if you missed it.

Redesign with Prima launched some brand new goodies this week, and I was really excited to use one of the transfers! This project was just perfect for it!

Let’s start with a look at the before of this dressing table:

It was $49 at the thrift store. I am always feeling cheap when it comes to furniture, but it appeared to be hand-built, judging by the unfinished wood on the back, and I just loved that!

Perhaps it was made with someone special in mind?

I knew paint would do wonders for those pretty lines.

Clean

As always, I started with a good cleaning using White Lightning, mixing one TBSP into a half gallon of warm water:

I love using these terry cloth applicator pads to wipe my pieces down. They are like a sponge covered in a washcloth. White Lightning is a degreaser and a deglosser, and gloves are recommended.

Be sure to swap your water water out for clean water and give everything another wipe down to remove any residue.

Paint

I chose Fluff for this set as I knew it would be the perfect backdrop for the transfer I’m using.

I’m always amazed at the coverage of Fluff. This is after one coat…

Two coats is usually all you need.

Sand

Once that was dry, I sanded to smooth all over using 220 grit sandpaper so I could distress just a little while I was at it…

Transfer Time

This is a BRAND NEW Redesign transfer called Pastels Artistry:

It comes in this large size as well as the smaller Middy (three 8.5 X 11″ sheets) and the mid-sized Maxi (two 12 X 12″ sheets) sizes as well:

Find all the newly released items listed in my Etsy Shop HERE. I’ll keep them on the first page through the weekend.

One thing I love about this particular transfer is instead of there being a blunt line down the center where the pieces meet, it has been created to match up at slightly different points, so you can’t see a seem down the center:

I love that!

If you haven’t applied a transfer before, it is really pretty easy, especially on flat surfaces like this.

HOW TO APPLY A TRANSFER:

Remove the white backing
Position the transfer where you want it
Use the burnishing tool included to burnish (rub with pressure) the transfer to your surface
It is best to start in one corner and pull the clear plastic layer on top away from the transfer as you go.
If you get any pieces that stick to the clear plastic layer on top, lay it back down and burnish some more

Once the image is transferred, the top should pull away.
You can burnish it more by rubbing a soft cloth or a finishing pad over the surface to make sure it adhered well all over.

Seal

Once I had the transfer applied, I sealed everything with Clear Coat in Satin using the blue sponge applicator to apply it:

TIP

It’s hard to tell, but in the photo above, I am standing on the left side of the table, facing it as I drag my sponge across the surface from the other side. I find that my application is much straighter when I pull the sponge toward me like this. We have a natural tendency to arc a bit in our application when going from side to side. Having straighter strokes will give you a nicer finish in the end. I hope that makes sense!