How to Transform a Chest of Drawers with Paint

This post is proof that you can truly transform a piece of furniture in 4 days, probably less if you have more time to devote to it than I did.

About 5 or 6 years ago, I picked up this chest of drawers for $20 from a user on a Facebook page I followed, back when I was on Facebook. Since then, it has sat in the unfinished section of our lower level, gathering dust, until I was recently searching for some extra storage and realized I had this perfect piece for it.

This is an old school chest of drawers with wood slides so it took some coaxing with some sandpaper and silicone spray to make the drawers slide in and out easily.

Here’s a shot of the original chest, in its yellowed and marked-up state.

As you can see, not only is the paint yellowed, chipped, and stained, the bottom piece of drawer pull hardware is also broken. All of the hardware had been painted over at some point and, as much as I often like to preserve the original aspects of a piece, the hardware on this was replaced with some gorgeous Amrock hardware that I acquired for free and was much more suited to the contemporary look that I was aiming for.

How to Makeover a Chest of Drawers with Paint

Here’s how I tackled the easy repainting of this chest of drawers:

• Remove the drawers.
• Remove the hardware from the drawers.
• Using an orbital sander or sanding block, rough up all of the painted surfaces with 100 grit sandpaper. If there are major dings or scratches, be sure to pay more attention to them to smooth them out but don’t over sand so much much that you create divots.
• Using a damp cloth, wipe down all of the pieces inside and out and let dry thoroughly. Make sure all dust and debris are removed.
• Using a stain-blocking primer, apply it using a 2-inch sponge applicator.
• Let sit at least 2 hours -here’s a shot of the chest’s frame after priming. You can see the difference already between the current yellowing paint and the white primer.

• After the primer has set for at least 2 hours, apply a thin coat of paint using a 2-3 inch foam brush. I’ve come to prefer foam brushes over regular paintbrushes as they leave a lot fewer brush marks in the final result and BONUS, they’re inexpensive enough to just throw away after the job is done.
• After the primer has set, apply your paint in thin layers, using at least 3 coats in all.
• On the top, sides, and drawer fronts, use long brush strokes and be sure to check for drips along the sides.
• I used Behr latex interior paint for this piece which allows 2 hours dry time in between coats. Be sure to check the recommendations of the paint you’re using.
• Once the final coat of paint has set at least 48 hours, install the hardware you’ll be using.
• Ready, set, decorate.
• Gorgeous, right?

It’s amazing, isn’t it? I was able to use up a can of the same paint we used in our dining room and, along with the free hardware, made this into a stunning transformation.

Hard to believe it’s the same piece, isn’t it?

How to repaint a chest of drawers? This is proof of just how easy it is.

Questions? Let me know in the comments! You can refinish, renew, recycle, upcycle the piece of your dreams.

Thanks for stopping by.