I want to give an old dresser the Shabby Chic look - how do I do it?

[Jeffster]

It's an old pine dresser that has been painted before but has a pretty good surface.
I'm guessing I start by giving it a sanding all over.
Do I then need to prime it or do I go straight on with the paint?
I was going to use a farrow and ball paint that will go with my kitchen. Do I need to use eggshell or will emulsion be ok?
It has handles at the moment which I want to change to knobs. I'm intending to remove the handles, fill the holes with wood filler (slightly raised) then gently sand it down to level then paint over it. Does that sound right?
When I paint it, do I use a brush or a roller? I want to get a smooth finish and having used eggshell recently on skirting boards I found it a bit drippy so I don't really know how to avoid that problem (apart from not overloading brush all the time because I am too impatient...ahem...!)
Thanks

yes sand it and brush all dust off. I woudl use eggshell simply because its longer lasting. Yes to filling and sanding. I use a brush when painting furniture, do 2 thin coats rather than one thick drippy one. Are you distressing it too?

Not sure about distressing. I think it can look a bit naff. I think I'll see how good it looks when I've finished and whether I need to disguise crapness

Cyb - do I need to use primer or just straight on with the painte?

primer if its on bare wood, I woudl just whack on the egg shell!

Thanks Cyb. Out of interest, do you have an opinion on distressing?!

Ahem, of course I do

I like to buy stuff that looks a bit bashed about but it has to be done properly. The times I have tried to distress bits it has failed. it is easy to go OTT with distressed stuff too, it actually has to be relatively OLD not some Ikea bookcase with some bits sanded off

LOL! I'll try and remember to post back when I've finished and you can advise whether I should distress/be distressed or not