Jewelry Storage and Display from an Old Pine Country Shelf

DIY Furniture Flip: Refinished Solid Maple Dresser in Classic White

In this tutorial, I’m sharing how I completely transformed a solid maple, Canadian-made dresser into a fresh, modern piece that’s both timeless and functional. Originally a tired chest of drawers, this sturdy maple beauty got a full makeover — from sanding and priming to a crisp classic white finish and new stainless steel bar and knob hardware . The result? A clean, elegant dresser with five easy-glide drawers that looks right at home in any bedroom, guest room, or entryway. Follow along to see each step of the refinishing process and how a little paint and hardware can give solid wood furniture a brand-new life.

A customer brought me their old country pine shelf with a vision for it to become a jewelry display unit. She saw hooks and wire and the color teal and left it in my hands to create something.

First step was a good scrub, these shelves usually were left raw as was this one. There was a stubborn sticker that needed a few coats of an orange cleaner I love called Nature's ultimate (formerly known as TKO)

Once dry, it was time for the paint. I choose General Finishes chalk paint in key west blue.

See it on this sweet accent table

When dry I distressed the edges to reveal a bit of the wood. The color did not photograph true here, don't be alarmed.

To deepen the key west blue even more I sealed it with Daddy Van's cafe noir dark wax.

Perfect!

Here it is all painted waiting for new shaker pegs. Once I secured them they were painted and waxed in the same colors and glued into the old existing holes.

Ten cup hooks were added in the long vertical openings. Chicken wire was added to the long horizontal openings. Two D hangers were added on the back to give a secure mount to the wall and this beauty was complete!

Scroll to last picture to see it in its new home loaded up :)