10 Ways to Paint a Dresser

My favorite way to update an old, tired piece of furniture is with paint. I thought it would be fun to share 10 Ways to Paint a Dresser!

Paint is truly magic in a can and the possibilities are endless! Over the last 10 years I’ve shared hundreds of ideas for trays, side tables, desks, dressers, buffets, chairs, lamps, and decorative elements. Did you guys know I wrote an eBook all about painting furniture? If not you may want to check it out, but today let’s talk about dressers – specifically 10 ways to paint a dresser!

Now’s the perfect time to find an old dresser to paint! You might come across one at a yard sale or flea market that’s just begging for some love. To be honest I’ve found many on the side of the road…

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Create a Flag Dresser

I’ve actually done a few flag dressers! A union flag on my old childhood dresser for our oldest. It was actually one of my very first painting projects and I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint® and taped off areas with painter’s tape.

You can see the full tutorial for that dresser here. *Just know this was a very early post with not very good quality photography.

Another one I did was for a friend who was of Australian descent. Instead of tape I used a projector to project the flag image onto the dresser and drew it with a chalk pencil and then painted by hand. Full tutorial here. This is how the dresser came out:

Give it a Coat of the Most Luscious Blue

This dresser is one of my favorites. I painted this in the most luscious blue – Heirloom by Fusion Mineral Paint. It’s a favorite color and so very happy. I also updated the hardware. Click here for the full tutorial. This dresser has been very popular on Pinterest.

Add Tribal Accents

A coat of black and a simple tribal motif made this dresser come to life. Stenciling is a great way to update furniture, walls, and decorative items in your home. See how I did this here.

Neutral on the Outside / Colorful on the Inside

This armoire was a free find and it’s soooooo heavy! I painted it in French Linen Chalk Paint on the outside with white detailing.

I created a custom color on the inside. This project contained several tutorials in one including tinting wax to highlight the details on the outside of the cabinet. Get all the details here.

Pretty blue drawers on the inside of a dresser

Decoupage

Grab some Mod Podge and add fun vintage images on the exterior or interior of a piece. I’ve decoupaged wrapping paper, maps, and vintage images on furniture. One that I love and found her forever home in a coastal bathroom is my Mermaid dresser. I added a crackle finish on top to give an antiqued affect. Get my tips for this look here. You can see a map page dresser here and a nautical chest with a map tray insert here.

Perfectly Chippy

Create an authentic look of a “found” chippy dresser with milk paint. For this piece I used Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint in Artissimo. It is a gorgeous, deep, dark blue. This is certainly a favorite from the archive. I love it paired with the lion’s head pulls from D. Lawless. Get the full tutorial here.

Chippy dresser with brass lion's head pulls

Mid Century Refresh

MCM or Mid Century is all the rage right now. I freshened this piece up with General Finishes’ Gel Stain and Fusion Mineral Paint. This mid century pieces are great as TV consoles and work for modern and transitional styles. See how to do this here.

Hand Painted Details

I always wanted to paint an octopus dresser! I used a projector to help me with this look using a vintage octopus image and Chalk Paint. This color is Oxford Navy! It’s easier than you might think to paint this octopus and you can use this method to transfer any image! Get the tutorial with video here.

Use Photography on a Dresser

This was a collaboration with my friend Kjeld Mahoney. I painted this empire dresser in Milk Paint and planned on stripping the top to beautiful wood. What I didn’t know at the time was the top must have had a set of drawers or a decorative element so the lovely wood stopped. We decided to place a wooden print on the top as permanent art piece! See the step by step tutorial here and you can see an image of the top below:

When In Doubt Use White

White is such a classic color for furniture and can really make a tired piece shine. I actually found this dresser on the side of the road and affectionately named her “Isla”. Conor was going to be Isla Rose if he was a girl, but he was not. So I named the dresser Isla. Anyway, I painted this dresser with Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint in Ironstone. It was one of my first times using that paint. I’d planned on selling this piece but just couldn’t. You can see the original post here. We enjoyed this dresser in our first home and here you can see it in our original bedroom in our forever home: