Bring an old dresser back to life with these affordable and chic painted dresser ideas.
9 Painted Dresser Ideas
Updated on Jan. 09, 2024
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Stencil Design
For the most durable painted dresser finish, the right products are essential. Professional furniture refinisher @retro.indesign used Wise Owl One Hour Enamel Paint (color: Wrought Iron) on this modern dresser makeover.
The paint is an incredibly tough, fast-drying acrylic enamel, specially formulated for cabinets and furniture. She designed a custom stick-on stencil to create the floral design on the two middle drawers.
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Sage Green and Natural Wood
This midcentury dresser had great bones, but @alteredpine made it even better with one choice: She painted the drawers, body and legs Solstice Green by Melange Paints, a sophisticated, earthy, muted sage green. The no-hardware drawer design features lips at the top and bottom she sanded down to the natural wood, creating a gorgeous contrast.
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Bold Color
There are endless possibilities when painting a dresser. Sometimes a solid bold color is the way to go, as demonstrated by @sittingprettyhomedecor. She transformed the tired wood finish and French Provincial design with the perfect saturated purple, Sugarplum by Paint Couture.
Don’t be afraid to venture outside your usual color comfort zone to make a big impact.
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Faux Wood Finish
It takes hours of sanding and stripping to get down to the wood beneath. Instead, try this painted faux wood finish technique from @sara.chen.design.
Here’s how it’s done: Paint the entire dresser with a primer, then a mid-tone beige color for the base coat. Next, apply a top coat paint color in dark brown. Create the wood graining effect by dragging a chip brush horizontally or vertically to mimic wood patterns. You can also create a paint that looks like wood on any surface with the art of faux finishing.
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Pretty Pink
This pink dresser by @amostsimplehome was commissioned for one lucky girl’s bedroom; you’d never suspect it was once an outdated, dark wood piece.
In addition to the light pink paint job, she added the gold hairpin legs to give it a more modern silhouette. Floral wallpaper covers the interior drawers, creating a pop of hidden pattern when opening the cabinet.
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Paint Washed
To preserve the wood grain on your dresser, try a paint wash technique, like this example from @whiterosefurniture_.
Paint wash is a combination of paint and water that creates a more translucent finish. This dresser originally had a dark-orange wood finish that she stripped (using non-toxic GreenEZ Furniture Stripper) and sanded. She applied a tan paint wash to achieve this beautiful bleached wood effect.
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Modern Squiggle
Here’s a unique idea from @mija.studios:Â Add a bit of whimsy to your outdated dresser with freehand squiggles!
The body of the dresser is painted black, and the contrasting drawers are natural wood. A black squiggle design extends across all the drawers, giving the piece a playful postmodern style that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
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Rub-On Transfers
We love the hand-painted look of the butterflies on this dresser from @newlifedesigns_furniture, but they’re actually rub-on transfers!
After painting the wood this gorgeous muted green color (Credenza by Amy Howard OneStep Paint), she applied the butterflies and dragonflies for added interest and a one-of-a-kind pattern. The design extends to the top of the dresser. The inside of the drawers are lined with floral wallpaper.
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Two-Tone
Use painter’s tape to achieve a two-tone look, like this dresser makeover by @inspiredbycoastal. The neutral warm gray and white pair nicely for a fun, modern style that isn’t too overpowering. The round wood drawer pulls are actually lids from glass jars. Check out these oak cabinet knobs for a similar look.
