Faux Wood Sausalito Finish Dresser Makeover
Step-by-step guide made from Black Sheep House's YouTube video.
Refinish a wood dresser with a multi-layered faux wood finish inspired by Pottery Barn's Sausalito collection. The technique layers a semi-gloss tan base coat over primer, textures a water-based brown decorative glaze using brushes, a whisk broom, and a rubber grooming brush, and finishes with light dry-brushing, a matte topcoat, and modified original hardware.
- Difficulty: beginner
Safety
- Wear eye protection and keep fingers clear of the sharp metal edges when cutting and twisting off hardware backplates with aviation snips and pliers.
- Work in a well-ventilated area when applying primers, paints, glazes, and polyurethane topcoats.
Must know before you build
- Allow base coat and glaze 24+ hrs to cure; prevents scraping or blotchy spots.
- Apply stain-blocking primer on unstripped wood to prevent tannin bleed-through.
- Whisk broom and rubber grooming brush create distinct faux wood grain textures.
- Aviation snips and locking pliers remove bulky hardware backplates cleanly.
- DIY glaze: 1 part acrylic paint to 2 parts water-based clear topcoat.
- Primer and paint base allows faux wood finish on laminate or MDF surfaces.
Tools
- Deck staining brush (wide bristle staining brush)
- Paint can opener (metal loop can opener) (optional)
- Paint stir stick (wooden stir stick)
- Chip brush (disposable bristle paint brush, 2 in (50.8 mm))
- Whisk broom (small hand broom)
- Rubber dog grooming brush (rubber-tipped pet hair removal brush, Items 4 U Pawrific Pets)
- Paper plate (disposable plate) (optional)
- Wiping cloth (lint-free cloth or paper towel)
- Angled paint brush (angled sash paint brush, Zibra, 2.5 in)
- Aviation snips (compound-action tin snips) (optional)
- Locking pliers (curved-jaw locking pliers) (optional)
Materials
- Wood dresser (1, solid wood dresser)
- Primer (water-based stain-blocking primer, Zinsser, Bulls Eye 1-2-3)
- Base coat paint (1 coat, interior semi-gloss enamel paint and primer, Behr, Premium Plus Interior Semi-Gloss Enamel, Medium Base 3400, Color: Rugged Tan, 1 Quart, 1 Quart)
- Decorative glaze (water-based semi-transparent decorative glaze, Rust-Oleum, Transformations Decorative Glaze, Color: Java Brown, 32 fl oz (946 mL), 32 fl oz (946 mL))
- Dry brush paint (flat latex paint sample, Behr, Color: Natural Twine, flat sheen)
- Matte topcoat (water-based matte polyurethane, Varathane, Ultimate Polyurethane Water Based, Matte finish, 32 fl oz (1 QT / 946 mL), 32 fl oz (1 QT / 946 mL))
Step by step
Step 1: Prime the Dresser
Brush a coat of stain-blocking primer across the exterior surfaces of the dresser.
- Brush primer onto the dresser. Remove the drawer hardware and brush a coat of Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 primer horizontally across the drawer fronts and dresser frame using a wide brush.
- Tip: Priming over existing wood finishes lets you skip chemical stripping while giving the base coat a grip that won't peel during glazing.
- Common mistake: Skipping the dedicated primer because your base paint says 'paint and primer in one' — without a dedicated bonding primer on slick finished wood, vigorous brushing during the glaze step can strip the paint right off.
Step 2: Apply the Tan Base Coat
Open and stir the tan semi-gloss enamel paint and apply one full base coat over the primed dresser.
- Open and stir the tan enamel paint. Pry open the can of Behr Premium Plus Interior Semi-Gloss Enamel in Rugged Tan and stir it thoroughly with a wooden paint stick.
- Tip: Use a semi-gloss enamel for the base coat so the non-porous sheen allows the decorative glaze to slide smoothly without soaking in.
- Coat the dresser with tan paint. Apply one even coat of the Rugged Tan semi-gloss paint over the entire primed dresser and allow it to dry completely.
- Tip: Let the base coat dry overnight before glazing so the moisture in the glaze and the friction from the brushes don't lift the paint.
- Common mistake: Glazing too soon after painting, which softens the fresh latex paint and causes it to peel off when brushed with the whisk broom.
Step 3: Apply and Texture the Decorative Glaze
Brush brown decorative glaze onto the dresser in sections and drag a deck staining brush, whisk broom, and rubber dog brush horizontally through the wet glaze to create a faux wood grain.
- Prepare the glaze and brushes. Open the can of Rust-Oleum Transformations Decorative Glaze in Java Brown and dip a 2-inch chip brush into the glaze, keeping a wide deck staining brush ready in your other hand.
- Tip: Using a wide deck staining brush (~4–5 inches wide) naturally mimics the width of real wood planks when you pull it across a drawer front.
- Brush glaze onto the upper drawers and smooth with deck brush. Brush the Java Brown glaze onto two drawer fronts at a time with the 2-inch chip brush, then drag the wide deck staining brush horizontally from end to end to spread and smooth the glaze into even streaks.
- Tip: Decorative glaze is formulated to dry slowly, giving you plenty of open working time to re-brush a section until you like the grain.
- Score wood grain with whisk broom and rubber dog brush. Drag a stiff whisk broom horizontally across the wet glaze to add fine grain striation, pull a rubber dog grooming brush across to carve deeper tan channels, and lightly pass the deck staining brush over the surface again to soften harsh contrast.
- Tip: Follow the rubber dog brush with a light pass of the deck staining brush to tone down overly harsh contrast while keeping the underlying tan grain visible.
- Common mistake: Leaving the rubber brush marks unblended, which makes the lines look too stark and artificial instead of soft wood grain.
- Repeat the glazing sequence in real time. Apply glaze to the next pair of drawers and work through the full sequence at normal speed: spread with the deck brush, pull the rubber dog brush horizontally through the glaze, and blend softly with the deck brush.
- Tip: Start and finish each horizontal pass cleanly at the edges of the drawer so you don't leave mid-panel brush stops.
- Glaze the remaining drawers and dresser frame. Continue working in sections across the bottom drawers, base molding, top overhang, and sides, applying the glaze and dragging the deck brush, rubber brush, and whisk broom until the entire piece is grained.
- Tip: Work in manageable sections (such as one or two drawers or one trim molding at a time) so the glaze doesn't tack up before you finish texturing.
Step 4: Dry Brush with Light Tan Paint
Offload light tan flat paint onto a plate and cloth, then lightly dry-brush across the glazed grain and wipe back excess paint.
- Stir and offload light tan paint for dry brushing. Stir the flat light tan paint (Behr Natural Twine), dab a small amount onto a paper plate with a chip brush, and blot most of the paint off onto a cloth until the bristles are nearly dry.
- Tip: Always offload your brush onto a cloth or paper towel before touching the furniture so the bristles only deposit a dusty highlight.
- Dry-brush over the dresser top and sides. Feather the nearly dry brush lightly in the direction of the faux grain across the dried glaze on the top and sides of the dresser, wiping immediately with a cloth to blend any heavy streaks.
- Tip: Keep the dry-brushing very light and airy; even when it barely looks visible going on, it adds subtle warmth and depth to the wood grain.
- Common mistake: Applying the dry-brush paint as heavily as shown on the side panel demo — the creator intentionally overloaded the brush there so the camera could pick it up.
Step 5: Apply the Matte Topcoat
Stir the water-based matte polyurethane and brush a protective topcoat over the dresser following the direction of the faux grain.
- Stir the matte polyurethane. Stir the can of Varathane Ultimate Polyurethane Water Based in Matte finish gently and thoroughly with a wooden stir stick so the matting agents are evenly suspended.
- Brush matte topcoat over the dresser. Brush an even coat of the water-based matte topcoat horizontally along the faux wood grain across the dresser frame and drawer fronts.
- Tip: Choose a matte sheen for your topcoat — it hides surface imperfections and makes painted faux wood look like real, natural wood rather than plastic.
- Common mistake: Applying water-based polyurethane or polycrylic before the glaze has cured for at least 24–72 hours, which can cause the glaze to pull up, crackle, or turn blotchy.
Step 6: Modify the Drawer Hardware
Cut into the bulky round backplates on the original drawer pulls with aviation snips and twist them off using locking pliers for a sleeker profile.
- Snip and twist off the hardware backplates. Cut from the outer edge to the center hole of each round backplate on the original bail pulls using aviation snips, grip the post with locking pliers, and twist the cut backplate off the handle.
- Tip: Remove bulky decorative backplates from dated bail pulls with tin snips and pliers to create sleek, modern hardware without buying new pulls.
- Watch out: Keep your fingers clear of the sheared metal edges when twisting the cut backplates off with pliers.