Gingham's soft pattern has delighted decorators for years. Mimic the look of the classic fabric by painting a base coat, then dragging a squeegee comb over the paint.

• Unfinished dresser
• Primer
• White latex enamel paint in semigloss finish
• Lavender latex enamel paint
• Latex glazing medium
• Paintbrushes
• 3-inch paint rollers
• Painter's tape
• Squeegee with rubber blade cut into "teeth"*
• Fine-tip marking pen (optional)
• Straightedge (optional)
• Crafts knife (optional)
• Bucket
• Paint tray
• Lint-free cloth
• Water-base polyurethane

*To make a notched squeegee to create a combing tool for the gingham pattern, use the straightedge and fine-tip marking pen to measure and mark the rubber blade every 1/4 inch. Cut out every other notch with a crafts knife.

1. Remove any knobs or pulls from the unfinished dresser. Remove drawers. Prime the dresser and drawers. Do not paint the interior sides of the dresser or drawers because the wood may swell and cause the drawers to stick or slide hard. Let the paint dry thoroughly. (Instead of an unfinished dresser, an existing painted furniture piece can be used. Scrape away any loose paint, clean, and prime.)

2. Base-coat the dresser and drawers with the white enamel semigloss paint. Let dry.

 

3. Tape off the edges of every drawer front, pressing the tape firmly for a crisp edge.

 

4. Prepare a 1:1 mixture of lavender latex enamel paint and latex glazing medium in a bucket; stir. Pour some of the mixture into a paint tray. With a 3-inch roller, apply the lavender glaze-paint mixture to a drawer front.

 

5. Immediately pull the notched squeegee across the drawer front to remove some of the glaze-paint mixture. Wipe the squeegee with a lint-free cloth, then drag the tool perpendicular to the first squeegee marks to make a gingham pattern. Wipe the rubber blade clean. Continue to paint and squeegee the drawer fronts one at a time. Let dry. Remove tape.

1. Apply one or two coats of water-base polyurethane to the dresser and drawers, letting it dry thoroughly between coats.
2. Paint drawer knobs or pulls with undiluted lavender paint. Let dry. If desired, use the white paint to paint polka dots or other simple shapes on the lavender knobs. Screw the knobs or pulls to the drawers. Put the drawers back into the dresser.