Hate Your Dresser? 21 Ways to Make It Amazing

Hey, boring dresser: Your days are numbered. Transform a basic chest of drawers into a designer accent with easy makeovers you can tackle in a weekend (or less!).

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November 25, 2014

By: Liz Gray

Related To:

In an Hour: Add House Number Drawer Pulls

Give your dresser a dose of street style by replacing run-of-the-mill drawer pulls with sleek, modern house numbers.

In an Hour: Add: Building-Block Drawer Pulls

Sick of stepping on the tiny knives that are building blocks? Immobilize a few as playful, bold drawer pulls.

In an Hour: Customize Drawers With Decals

HGTV Magazine has a perfect dresser dress-up for dorm dwellers or indecisive decorators: easy-stick contact paper. Cut out a pattern with a paper punch, or find a chic pattern to cover the whole drawer front. When you're ready for a change, these designs peel off without leaving gunky residue.

From: HGTV Magazine

In an Hour: Use the Drawers

Not convinced your dresser is worth salvaging? Give the drawers a chance, at least. Use them to house craft supplies, your rubber-band collection or free-floating clutter.

In an Hour: Turn Drawers Into Shelves

Create art that doubles as storage and storage that doubles as art. Find a mini dresser and a few old black-and-white snapshots. Mount the drawers on the wall and tack a picture in each one using photo corners. Use the drawers as shelves, or hang earrings from looped pieces of wire.

In an Hour: Gain Instant Bathroom Storage

Here, mismatched vintage dresser drawers store the scourge of bathroom counters everywhere: makeup and hair products.

In an Hour: Turn Rubber Toys Into Drawer Pulls

Kids' room clutter is no match for T-Rex. Make cleaning up (a little) more fun for little hands with these toys-turned-drawer pulls. Have a little more time? Paint the dresser reptilian green to match.

In an Hour: Add Drawer Liners

Once you've decked out the dresser's exterior, don't forget inside those drawers. Line them with complementary shelf paper, wallpaper or contact paper.

In a Day: Add Paint + Vintage Pulls

This dresser has some serious personality, no? Design on a Dime host Casey Noble made it one-of-a-kind by painting one drawer front bright yellow and adding vintage pulls.

In a Day: Wrap It Up

Wrapping paper isn't just for gifts. Here, HGTV Magazine used a floral roll to transform this basic furniture piece. A stenciled monogram sends it into the uber-preppy zone.

From: HGTV Magazine

In a Day: Paint On Cheerful Stripes

Follow these steps from HGTV Magazine to update your plain dresser with cheerful stripes. Use up leftover paint from previous DIYs, or buy affordable sample-sized containers.

From: HGTV Magazine

In a Day: Give Your Dresser Retro Swagger

Use a patterned decal sheet and vintage-inspired knobs to create a retro-cool dresser like HGTV Magazine did here.

From: HGTV Magazine

In a Day: Wallpaper Your Dresser

Stylish wallpapers are making a huge comeback. Not ready for all that paste? Install a wallpaper you covet atop a basic modern dresser for a not-so-permanent dose of pattern.

In a Day: Outline Your Dresser

Any dresser looks modern with a silhouette of bright white. Here, HGTV Magazine editors stained the drawers and added white hardware to pull the look together.

From: HGTV Magazine

In a Day: Add a Chevron Pattern

There's a reason chevron mania is here to stay: This pattern packs a serious visual impact. See for yourself by creating your own pattern on a basic flat-front dresser.

From: Brian Patrick Flynn

In a Day: Make a Chest of Dirt

Dressers truly past their prime can find new life in the garden. Stagger the drawers and fill with herbs, greens or small flowers. The top is a great place to elevate potted plants.

In a Day: Turn a Dresser Into a Chalkboard

A coat of chalk paint turns an eyesore into an artist's canvas. Or, for the super-organizers among us, another way to label every single drawer. Use chalk pens to avoid smudging and dust.

In a Day: Turn a Dresser Into Open Storage

When revamping used furniture, imagination is key. A dresser with missing drawers might seem like trash, but if it still has shelves, it can be a treasure. Give it a fresh coat of paint and you've got a whimsical bureau for your boudoir.

In a Day: Turn a Tall Dresser Into a Changing Table

A tall, basic dresser becomes a bohemian changing table with the addition of mismatched knobs and a cheery aqua hue.

In a Weekend: Turn a Dresser Into a Vanity

That dresser stashed in the garage can have a new life as a retrofitted bathroom vanity. Here's how to create your own.

From: Marian Parsons

In a Weekend: Turn a Dresser Into Open Storage

Put a fresh new spin on an old wooden dresser with open shelving, unexpected hardware and a playful use of color.

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Photo By: Philip Friedman

Photo By: Photo courtesy of Jen Jafarzadeh L'Italien

Photo By: J. Aaron Greene

Photo By: Lara Robby/Studio D

Photo By: wwing; iStock

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Hate Your Dresser? 21 Ways to Make It Amazing

Related To:

In an Hour: Add House Number Drawer Pulls

In an Hour: Add: Building-Block Drawer Pulls

In an Hour: Customize Drawers With Decals

In an Hour: Use the Drawers

In an Hour: Turn Drawers Into Shelves

In an Hour: Gain Instant Bathroom Storage

In an Hour: Turn Rubber Toys Into Drawer Pulls

In an Hour: Add Drawer Liners

In a Day: Add Paint + Vintage Pulls

In a Day: Wrap It Up

In a Day: Paint On Cheerful Stripes

In a Day: Give Your Dresser Retro Swagger

In a Day: Wallpaper Your Dresser

In a Day: Outline Your Dresser

In a Day: Add a Chevron Pattern

In a Day: Make a Chest of Dirt

In a Day: Turn a Dresser Into a Chalkboard

In a Day: Turn a Dresser Into Open Storage

In a Day: Turn a Tall Dresser Into a Changing Table

In a Weekend: Turn a Dresser Into a Vanity

In a Weekend: Turn a Dresser Into Open Storage

Shop This Look

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