Midcentury Farmhouse Dresser DIY: How to Put Legs on Furniture

Take a look at how I transformed this $5 thrifted midcentury dresser DIY into a super cute farmhouse chic storage space! I’l’ also explain how to add legs to furniture with ease!

Remove Wood at the Base

I wanted the legs to be flush with the bottom of the dresser, not hiding a few inches under the dresser and peeking out. There was a front piece of wood that hammered off easily, and then I took my jigsaw out to cut the sides so that all four sides of the dresser were at the same height.

I unfortunately did not take any good pictures of this process, but basically what I did was take the bottom few inches off of the dresser so that the entire bottom part of it was the same height.

Mount the Leg Brackets

Next, I flipped the dresser upside-down and installed the brackets. I picked up four affordable brackets like this at Home Depot. These were easy to install in each of the four corners of the dresser. First, place one of the brackets into a corner, with the screw holes against the edge of the dresser. I left maybe a half an inch between the edge of the dresser and the bracket. Then, drill a hole for the middle/corner screw. Screw it in place. Then, drill holes for the other four screws and then screw them in. Make sure the screws are tight. Tada! Check out my video for a quick demo.

Once you have all four brackets on, you just screw the legs into place. Super easy! Flip it over and check that it doesn’t wobble. If it wobbles, double check that the base of the furniture is level, and that all the legs are screwed in tightly. You can also put little cushions on the bottom of the legs to level it out, if needed.

Here are the legs I used:

Prime and Paint

Next for the dresser DIY, I primed and painted the dresser and newly attached legs. I also painted the metal brackets on the underside, just to help it blend in (although people probably wouldn’t notice it anyway). With a painter’s brush, I applied Zinnser primer (with shellac, to stop any bleed through), and then Rustoleum Linen White Chalk Paint. 

Distress

It couldn’t be a DIY farmhouse piece without at least a little distressing. Using 220 grit sandpaper, I lightly removed some of the paint from the edges of the dresser, as well as the edges of the legs.

Protect

I applied two coats of Rustoleum Chalk Paint Matte Topcoat to seal the paint. Again, a painter’s brush worked will in the application process.

Clean and Reinstall Hardware

I washed the original hardware in some soapy water and scrubbed them down. Then, I let them dry and reinstalled! 

Dresser DIY Complete!

And voila! A brand new, updated dresser! Hopefully this helps give you the confidence to tackle your next project, or helps you figure out how to add legs to an old piece of furniture.

While you’re here, check out a couple of my other farmhouse DIYs!

DIY Farmhouse Coffee Table

DIY Farmhouse Mirror