Painted Chest of Drawers Makeover
Painted Chest of Drawers Makeover
Whether you refer to this type of furniture as a tall boy, tall dresser, chest of drawers or just plain dresser, this beautiful piece is in line for my next furniture makeover.
In my family he would have been referred to as a chest of drawers with a shorter version being just a dresser but that could just be a regional thing. Or my family was just crazy which is in itself a possibility.
You probably can’t tell from the picture but this piece had tons of scratches and either needed to be painted, or stripped and sanded down to give him a complete makeover. But he is a solid, well built piece which is the most important thing. I chose the easy way out by opting for painting the piece and the room he’s going in already has a lot of wooden furniture.
Remove all your hardware. If you are not going to use the same handles or pulls that the dresser came with you will probably have to fill a few holes.
I use Durhams dry powder wood putty. Just add water and mix to a pasty consistency. When I used to buy the premixed putty they were expensive and would tend to dry out after only one use. With the powder you just mix what you can use at any one time.
Sand the holes you filled as well as all the wood finish. You’re trying to scratch the shiny surface and give your paint something to adhere to.
Use a lint free cloth to remove any sanding dust.
Paint as desired. I’m using Rustoleum Aged Gray Chalked Paint. It will cover in one coat but you may want to apply a second coat if the paint looks thin in spots.
As with all chalk paint, you’ll probably want to finish with a clear or vintage wax. Just paint on the wax, let dry then buff with fine steel wool.
I just shared my black leather handles with you last week with a makeover of a Moppe IKEA cabinet.
From the same Goodwill jacket I cut even more leather strips, 12 in all, rounding off the ends.
On last weeks pulls you could see my screw heads, here the screws are covered with plastic screw caps. Just push your screw thru the cap and snap closed.
Here he is in his final home though that color is not quite true to life.
If you don’t like your furniture, paint it. You will be giving him a whole new life. If you ever change your mind on the finish, paint is such an easy fix or you could use that time for a full strip.
Until next time, stay inspired.
Copyright © 2025
Hi Joan,
Interesting choice with the pulls; I also noticed you took out the key hole, good move.
That Durhams powder really looks like something I could use, especially if it doesn’t shrink and works on concrete!!!!
Thanks