DIY Dresser Knob Makeover

This has been one of those projects that I've been putting off for months now. It truly is the last project for the nursery, but I couldn't quite figure out how to execute it. We go this dresser from my in-laws and it happens to match the crib quite well, so painting it was definitely out of the question. It needed a little update though so I thought, "How hard could redoing the drawer pulls be?" The hardest part was coming up an idea that would actually work.

 

First and foremost, measure! Know what you're working with. I figured my current drawer pulls were standard so off to my local hardware store to get some cheap pulls in two different sizes, one for the top and one for the bottom. I immediately started wrapping the smaller of the two in my Lilly fabric and instantly fell in love. Now to put them on the dresser.....womp womp....they don't fit! Ok maybe they'll fit the other size. Nope. Turns out I needed 2.5 inch and 3.5 inch and I had 3 inch and 4 inch. Long story short, this was not going to work!

Maybe we can spray paint these bad boys and give it a shabby chic look. The spray paint didn't stick well to the tarnished metal and even after some cleaning, it still wasn't giving me my desired look. What to do? It was time to forget about the project for a little while.

Fast forward to an overdue pregnant lady trying to occupy her time with something other than counting Braxton hicks contractions and attempting to will myself into labor. It was time to DIY again! The easy solution for these drawer pulls was to buy some cheap wooden knobs and cover them in my leftover fabric from the rest of the nursery projects. But therein lies another problem; each drawer pull has two holes which means I would need two knobs to cover the place of one pull. Would this look dumb? Lucky for me, I found someone on Pinterest who was clearly in the same dilemma as me and made it work. It's whimsical, I told myself. Maybe it will be good for Charlotte and help her practice her fine motor skills. I really was running out of options and out of time. The decision was made, I was going to make 36 fabric covered drawer knobs and I was going to love it!

Now that you know that back story, let's get started on this super easy (but time consuming) tutorial.

 

Gather your supplies:

Wooden knobs

Fabric of your choice

Mod Podge

Paint brush

Rubber bands (I used hair ties since I didn't have rubber bands)

Scissors

 

Take your paintbrush and cover the wooden knob with Mod Podge. Then simply place your fabric square over the knob and begin smoothing and wrapping.

 

Once you have it on there the way you want, take your rubber band or hair tie and secure it at the base. This will hold everything in place while it dries.

 

Wait for it to dry then trim off the excess fabric and Mod Podge the bottom. This doesn't have to be perfect as you won't see it once it's on the dresser. Now you can remove your rubber band and coat the entire knob with Mod Podge. This will give it a little shine and make it more durable. I also think it gives a nice finished and polished look.

And there you have it! All done! Now just arrange them the way you want and install on your dresser. Easy as that!

So what do you think? Did that help our slightly out of date dresser and make it little more kid friendly? I think so!