HOME TRUTHS: Quick Change

A professional would have likely taken the time to fill the holes and redrill new ones to fit a typical 3” pull. But I’m no pro. Besides, I now had only two days until the parental visit. Individual knobs would have to do—and quick. (Also, I’d decided to keep the top drawer hardware intact, and knobs would match the now-antique-looking original hardware. Kinda-sorta.)

I borrowed my coworker Carole’s Black & Decker mouse sander and hit the hardware store, where I bough a roll of painter’s tape, 12 white porcelain knobs, and a quart of Behr Crisp Green semigloss paint. (Again, a professional might have taken the time to prime the drawer fronts. But since I was going to be painting a darker color over a lighter one, and time was of the essence, I skipped a step.)

Just in time to paint outdoors, the temperature dropped to near-zero wind chill. The stair landing of my fifth-floor walkup apartment would have to do. I threw down a drop cloth, crossed my fingers that the neighbors wouldn’t mind, and started in. I taped up the sides and painted the fronts of the drawers. I laid on three coats, allowing the last one to dry overnight. (Luckily, most of the dresser was in good shape; I didn’t have to repaint the sides or drawer edges.)

I probably should have waited 24 hours before installing the hardware (once again: so not a pro), but my parents were now due to arrive in an hour. I hoped for the best and peeled off the tape. To my delight, the drawers were pretty much dry—at least dry enough for me to screw in the knobs without taking off the paint. And I was thrilled with the color—it fits in perfectly with the yellow-and-green color scheme of the bedroom.

I threw my clothes into the refurbished drawers, then hustled around the apartment with a dust cloth and a broom, just in time for my parents to breeze through the door. My mom had a moment of nostalgia to this monument of my childhood, but she ultimately approved of the update. Montgomery Ward stores may be shuttered, but its dusty old dressers can live on with a little bit of TLC.

—Anna Wahrman, Managing Editor