Trying to Paint Furniture

I have read all of the DIY painting tutorials on furniture.  After the toybox debacle, I was pretty apprehensive, but the other option was to have an ugly dresser with no character, so I tried again.  I still am not a pro.  It is an art that I am convinced I will learn though.  The dresser was originally all oak wood.  I painted it in SW Gris, distressed it with sandpaper, and then put a varnish gloss over.  I think that I will paint the handles black and stain the distressed parts darker.

The next dresser is take 2 on dresser painting.  It is next to dresser 1,so I want them to look similar.  I have had dresser 2 for as long as I have been living on my own, it was my grandma's.  My Grandma was a pretty crafty lady in her own way and I am sure she would like to have the dresser loved and used as much as it has been.  I just hope the paint job I give it doesn't eff it up!