How To Get Smells Out Of Wood Drawers

SMELLY OLD DRAWERS? NO PROBLEM. HERE'S HOW TO DEODORIZE WOOD AND MAKE YOUR DRAWERS SMELL FRESH AND LOOK NEW.

Deodorizing Old Wood Drawers on Antique Dresser TXT
Hi SI family! I'm so happy you joined me today because I have an easy fix for old smelly wood drawers.

But first, a little bit on this antique dresser I picked up off FB Market Place. I'm learning that dating furniture is a special talent I don't have. Without Google, I couldn't tell what year a certain type of furniture was made.

What I do know is the hardware, finish, locks, types of wood used, wear and tear and the smell are all telltale signs when dealing with antiques.

The very first thing I do is open the drawers, stick my face in and take a whiff.

Then I look at the drawer construction and joinery. Check out these pin-and-scallop joints. They're just as impressive as dovetails, don't you think!? If any of you would like to take a guess at when this pin-and-scallop method was used on old furniture, I'd love for you to share in the comments. It looks a little too perfect to be done by hand so I'm guessing early 1900's ??? After 1895 they came out with machines to do dovetailing so I'd guess it's around the same time. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Pin and Scallop Joints on Dresser Drawer

Okay, so the last few weeks have been all about pretty florals. It's time to switch it up a bit. I have to keep you guys guessing, right?! 🙂 I listened to all your suggestions on Facebook – THANK YOU – and came up with something I've never tried before (thanks Kellee!) using yellow, blue, red and a TON of texture. I thought it was fitting to keep this old girl looking old.

Here's the before. This antique dresser had been refinished numerous times. There was old white dripping paint and it also had several colors of stain. I love that this piece has been kicking around for years. Its been reimagined several times over.

Antique Dresser Before - Deodorize Drawers

For the paint finish, I created lots of texture and OLD rustic charm. What do you think?

Deodorize Wood - Antique Dresser Makeover

Painted Antiqued Dresser Makeover in Rebel Yellow and Glaze

Deodorize and Condition Old Wood Drawers

THIS POST IS SPONSORED/CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS TO PRODUCTS I USE. YOU CAN SEE MY FULL DISCLOSURE HERE.

SOURCE LIST::

- Antique Dresser – SALVAGED
- Mini Angle Paint Brush
- Sandpaper | Shop Towels
- Rebel Yellow Chalk Mineral Paint
- Antebellum Chalk Mineral Paint
- Rusty Nail Chalk Mineral Paint
- Vandyke Brown Glaze
- Black Wax
- Gold Gilding Wax
- Gator Hide Topcoat
- Big Mamma's Butta

HOW TO DEODORIZE WOOD::

These drawers had an old wood smell but nothing moldy or drastic. If you have a REAL STUBBORN odor problem, I wrote an entire post on How to Remove Musty-Moldy-Mothy Smells HERE. This article has been pinned over 17K times and has over 100 odor removing techniques and testimonials in the comments. Definitely worth the read if you have a piece of real stinky furniture!

If you're looking to recondition old wood and make it smell fresh again, this couldn't be easier. Dixie Belle sent me some of their Big Mama's Butta. They offer two scented and one unscented.

Dixie Belle's Big Mama's Butta

It's the easiest product to use and the Orange Grove and Suzanne's Garden smell gorgeous. I'm pretty sensitive when it comes to smells, but I didn't find this overpowering at all.

I used a shop towel (but any soft lint-free towel or rag will work) and I dipped it into the Butta and then rubbed it onto the old wood. It reconditioned it beautifully and no more old smell. Now that it's been rubbed into the wood, I can't say that I smell Suzanne's Garden, but it definitely took away/sealed the old wood smell!

Update** You know when you're working with a specific scent and you can't really smell it anymore? That's exactly what happened with these drawers. I've checked on them the last week and the DO have a lovely floral smell! They drawers smell gorgeous! I'm not sure how long it will last for but I'll keep you updated. 🙂

Deodorizing Old Wood Drawers on Antique Dresser

Check out how amazing it looks now!

Reconditioned and Deodorized Antique Drawer

Clean smelling (and looking) drawers are a HUGE selling feature so I'll be using Big Mama's Butta on many of makeovers!

Dixie Belle Paint Big Mamas Butta Wood Deodorizer and Reconditioner

For the 411 on this dresser, I used a textured paint technique layering Rebel Yellow, Rusty Nail, and Antebellum Blue.

Antique Dresser Makeover w Refreshed Drawers IG

The paint was applied unevenly with the intent of creating brush marks and nooks and valleys. Then sanded smooth.

Painted Antiqued Dresser Makeover in Rebel Yellow and Glaze IG

To get all the texture to show, this Glaze was applied over top the paint and then a few areas were darkened with black wax. After the glaze and wax were on, another sanding to bring out all this gorgeous texture!