You’ll Think Twice About Passing Up Old Furniture After You See These Dresser Makeovers

Written by

Sarah Lyon
Sarah Lyon
Sarah Lyon is a freelance writer based in New York City who covers interior design and lifestyle content. She is constantly on the hunt for eye-catching pieces to add to her space and believes that a home is never truly finished being styled.
published Jan 7, 2020
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Credit: Lily Ardor

An attractive dresser can do wonders in taking a space from good to great. But there’s no need to spend tons of cash to score the piece of your dreams when a little DIY can transform both pieces you already own and secondhand steals. Whether you opt to paint, collage, or stencil, there are a multitude of ways you can customize and revive even the most dated piece. (And if you think dressers only belong in the bedroom, we’ve got news for you.) Read on for tips on how to get the look of some of our favorite transformations.

Match an all-over paint job with new hardware

Kim Wilson gave a 20-year-old wooden dresser a whole new life with some fusion mineral paint in midnight blue, plus vintage-looking swing pulls and simple knobs. Paired with a woven rug, gold mirror, and other stylish accessories, the piece looks totally fresh.

Add stenciled accents

Karin Chudy gave a plain wooden dresser a total redo using only paint. A beautiful green background makes the old hardware—now painted copper—pop. They’re complemented by stenciled leaves for a cool boho style. Keeping the top in its original wood tone helps pull it all together.

Try some funky hardware and legs

It’s safe to say that Lily Ardor’s dresser redo blew. us. away. Long, contemporary gold handles and funky new legs make this piece unrecognizable from how it looked before. While this makeover is a bit more advanced, it’s a great example of how an existing piece can be completely revamped to reflect a more modern style.

Give a wood piece a whitewashed style

Kaysie Strickland gave a plain maple dresser a whitewashed, weathered look by sanding down the finish, bleaching the wood beneath, then finishing with white wax. New white knobs complement the lighter style, which would look equally at home in a boho-inspired space or a coastal setting.

Try a matte look

Once again, new hardware and a fresh coat of paint make a major difference! Olivia of Our Hammock House revamped this dresser for her sons’ room using chalk paint for a totally modern, matte style. New drawer pulls from Amazon in sleek gold are a major upgrade from the 1980s-style ones that were on there before.

Mix it up with collaged drawer fronts

How stunning is this collaged piece that Denise Zdziennicki designed? She used a variety of different materials to create her masterpiece and provides a full how-to tutorial on her blog to create this totally one-of-a-kind patterned dresser.

Pair natural finishes with painted accents

Mallory and Savannah of Classy Clutter designed this boho dresser, which features a light wood background with a graphic painted white pattern. The best part is that this project is super easy to recreate at home and doesn’t require painting the entire dresser—the natural wood looks great on its own.