My sister was in need of a dresser, so I took it upon myself to refashion this $15 Facebook Marketplace find into something that would jive with her “razzle dazzle” style. Enter the dresser makeover project! Here I explain how I did it, and how you, too, can makeover any piece of furniture with a fun little bit of color and design!
Clean and Sand
The first important step of refinishing furniture, like with this dresser makeover, is to make sure it is clean. That way, the paint will adhere better. Soap, water, and a little elbow grease should suffice for most pieces. I also like to put a splash of vinegar into the soapy water.
I also like to lightly sand the piece of furniture at the beginning. If you are using chalk paint, you usually do not have to do this, but I feel better knowing that the paint will adhere well to it, regardless of what I use. Just a quick, light sanding with some 120 grit sand paper will do the job. Make sure to wipe all the sand dust off with a damp cloth; you don’t want those little particles to make your paint finish bumpy.
Prime
This is also another optional step. I like to do it with most pieces, because it prevents bleed through. Sometimes the oils in the wood of the piece will come through the layer of paint and make it look dirty. This ruins the appearance of a “fresh white” look you may want. If I am going to finish a piece in a lighter color, I will use this Zinnser Shellac-based Primer. The shellac will block any stains from coming through the layer of paint. You can also get the primer in spray form— this one works well if you just need to spot treat. Some people will paint a layer, and then just treat where they see the bleed through happening.
Paint, Paint, Paint Away!
Next is time for painting in this dresser makeover project! I used a regular old, paint brush or two for most of it, and just a couple of smaller artist’s brushes for the smaller details. I would suggest in investing in a small assortment or two like this, especially if you are planning on doing any more DIY paint projects. This project required several different colors and layers, so I’ll do my best to explain each part:
- Paint the dresser base white (Rustoleum Linen White). I did one coat of this, so that when I distressed the color I put on top (light blue), the white came through.
- Paint the dresser base light blue (Rustoleum Serenity Blue). This is a light, but bright and cheery blue. I did two solid coats on top of the white.
- Paint the edges of the dresser drawers white.
- Paint the centers of the dresser drawers dark blue (Waverly Ocean). I taped off the edges after the white dried, to get nice and clean lines.
- Add light blue in the spaces between the flat parts of the drawers. There were two bigger drawers that were made to look like 4 smaller drawers. I wanted to make them look like they were four smaller ones at a glance, so I put the dresser base color (light blue) between them. Check out the picture below!
Stenciling
I mostly enjoyed the stenciling part, but it is definitely something you need patience for. I used two stencils: one has a repeating, vintage-like flower pattern in a straight line (great for borders); and the other had a variety of vine-like leaves that I arranged randomly on the lower drawers.
For stenciling, you need to make sure you don’t put too much paint on your brush. If you do, the paint will seep through and not keep with the stencil form. You take the brush and lightly dab the paint on. There are some special stencil-dabbing brushes available out there, but I just used any round artists brush with fairly soft bristles that I already had.
Top Two Drawers
I used a border stencil for the top drawers. What’s important in this part is making sure you measure and center your stencil. Line it up with the row above. Check to see that it’s not too low or two high on the drawer face by measuring with a ruler. This will keep things consistent and result in a more “professional” look in the end. I’d recommend using some painter’s tape to keep it in place as you move down the drawer front. I used Waverly’s Ballet Slipper (light pink) for this part.
Bottom Three Drawers
You will also want to tape the white part off for this technique. I basically chose to randomly stencil one of the five different leaf patterns on various parts of the blue face of the drawer. I did about 7-9 with the light blue paint first, then 7-9 more with the pink paint (used also for the stenciling on the upper two drawers), and then 7-9 more with the linen white. If they were different colors, I did some overlapping with the stenciling.
Add a Protective Top Coat
The last paint phase of the dresser makeover project was to protect all of my work. I used this Matte Topcoat from Rustoleum. You can brush it on. I decided to pt two layers on for extra protection. Make sure your paint is completely dry, and apply it in light coats to prevent any smudging. Also make sure to stir it well.
Distress
To make the dresser a little more defined, I did some light distressing. This allowed the base coat of white to come through. I used 220 grit sandpaper on the edges of the dresser to expose some of the white. I was careful to go pretty light, because I didn’t want the actual wood to show through.
Add the Hardware
I had two different types of hardware to put in place…
One was the knobs. I found some super cute glass knobs on sale at Hobby Lobby.
The other one was the pulls. For the pulls, I found a handful of cheap fifty-cent ones at my local Habitat for Humanity Restore. They were an aged bronze, so I spray painted them silver to match the accenting color of the pulls.
DIY Painted Dresser: Done!
And there you have it! The complete dresser makeover. This has been one of the most detailed projects I’ve done on furniture so far, but I’m excited to do something like this again! And best of all, my sister loved it!
Inspired by this dresser makeover? Check out a couple of my other fun furniture DIYs below!
Ikea Kitchen Cart Hack
DIY Bench Makeover
