Inspirational Ways to Upcycle a Dresser

Ready to upcycle a dresser? Don’t start before reading our tips below.

The trusty dresser strikes a fine balance between practical storage and swish display case. But the full kitchen classic, complete with upper display shelves and lower cupboards and drawers, can sometimes be just too bulky for a compact kitchen. If you love your dresser but there’s just no space for it, one of the best kitchen dresser ideas is to divide it up into smaller pieces.

The top section of an old-fashioned dresser often has ornamental carvings or cut-outs that can transform into an impressive display case. It could become your new bathroom cupboard. Perhaps somewhere to stash your lotions and potions all easily on display so you can quickly grab what you want.

A plainer top section, consisting mostly of shelves, can make an over-the-desk shelf unit for a home working station or a kid’s bedroom. It could even be used as a hall stand. If you add a couple of strategically placed coat hooks, you’ve got a handy storage unit for hats and scarves, gloves and umbrellas.

The lower chest-style section also makes effective hallway storage. If the drawers are deep enough, they can be repurposed as a shoe rack. If they’re shallow, you could make them bigger, even big enough for boots. All you do is take the bottom out of the top drawer, fix together the fronts with a small wooden batten on the inside, and that’s it. You’ve made storage deep enough for all but thigh-high boots.

Pet lovers could remove the front from the bottom drawer or take off the doors from the lower cupboards. Lined with cushions, the space makes a cosy snooze station for your furry friends. If there are two cupboards but you only have one pet, the other side could be used to store pet food and other essentials for a complete pet hub.

There’s more to upcycled welsh dresser ideas than a lick of paint – although that’s a pretty good idea too. You can create a contemporary look with a range of changes. All of which are a great way to upcycle a dresser.

If your old dresser has glass or wood panels in the upper cupboard doors, you can remove these and replace them with chicken wire or fabric for an instant update. If you’re happy with glass in the doors, you could cover them with ribbed vinyl to recreate an on-trend flowing fluted look.

Decorative stencils can add a contemporary vibe to a plain dresser. You can take your pick from geometric art deco-style patterns of zig-zag shapes or a classic sunburst. You can even create the illusion of contrasting wood inlay on the plain surface. To do this, you’d paint the dresser front first, perhaps in a dark or plain colour, then overlay patterns using a stencil and pearlescent paint. The results can be strikingly pretty.

One of the most modern-looking upcycling tricks for an old pine dresser is to use wood paint on some, but not all of it. This involves rubbing down and painting all of the wooden parts except for the main flat top of the lower section. The wood of the lower chest part can be rubbed down and finished with a protective matte varnish. This two-tone effect transports your old wooden dresser straight into the world of contemporary design.

As part of your modernising makeover, you can replace old wooden doorknobs with curved metal cup-style kitchen handles, completing the transformation. If you prefer more of a farmhouse look, you could find some painted ceramic doorknobs. Alternatively find plain ones and decorate them yourself using acrylic paint.

You certainly can paint over dressers. Not only that, but you can transform the whole appearance of your room during the process. You can make a smallish room look bigger by blending the dresser into the background. This will stop it being a standout focus. If you paint your dresser a plain colour the same or slightly darker than your walls, the room is instantly expanded.

The inside of your dresser can be transformed as well. How about some bright or flowery wallpaper on the inside of the cupboards and at the back of the shelving? You could combine this with a fresh coat of paint on the outside to tone in with a feature colour of the wallpaper. This is sure to add a cheerful arty vibe to the daily routine of putting away the washing up.

Creating internal shading in your colour scheme is easy. Simply highlight the structure and depth of your furniture with different tones. For instance, you could paint the outer casing of the dresser in a paler shade. Compliment this with darker tones on the back of the cupboard spaces and perhaps the fronts of the drawers.

If your project to upcycle a dresser is complete, why not try other old furniture too? You may like to browse our article on upcycling ideas you can try at home. Once you’re done, you can stand back and admire your handiwork, knowing that you’re contributing towards a sustainable lifestyle. And for the ultimate finishing touch, why not check out Gumtree for some colourful vases or a pretty pottery jug to form a focal point for your kitchen display?