OK, so you decided to buy an old dresser and get creative at home, but so far no idea pops into your head? Say no more, we’re here to help! First of all, there are a few things you need to test before starting your little decorating project:
- Make sure the dresser is stable and well set in place. Otherwise, it will be extremely difficult to repair it after you finished putting on all the embellishments.
- Before you start, move it where you want to place it from now on: your kitchen, bedroom, living room. It’s best to move it now when it doesn’t have anything glued to it or else you’ll probably going to have to retouch it here and there.
- Place a few old newspapers underneath it in order to protect your floors.
1. Polish
You need to know that, if you’ve decided to redo your dresser, you have to do some polishing, no matter what you decide to do with it after that. This way, you’ll scrape off the residual paint, ground, and dirt and so on, leveling the surface and preparing it for the real transformation. However, if you like what it looks like after polishing it, feel free to stop there.
It will give your home a feeling of rustic and homemade. There are two ways in which you can polish your dresser: by using the sand paper machine or just the sand paper. The first one will cost you if you rent it, but it will be much faster. Plus, when polishing a dresser manually or any other piece of wood, irregularities are inevitable.
2. Lace
Who doesn’t like lace? If the dresser is for a girl, even better! Buy a few yards of lace from a Home Depot or online, from fabric.com and glue it on the side of your dresser, like you’d frame a painting. The fastest way is to use a hot glue gun, but make sure to cover your tracks. Aster drying, the hot glue turns white and that might stand out more than you’d wish.
The worst idea, however, if to use nails. For anything, not just lace: they will pierce your beautiful piece of furniture and the damage will be for good.
3. Paint
After polishing the dresser, you can add a vibrant color or a neutral tone, whatever suits your room best. Our advice is to avoid spray paint and go for water colors. You can actually use your dresser as a canvas: paint flowers, cars, abstract objects and anything you want on it. It will be unique and it will also have your touch.
You can actually ask your kids to draw something or leave their palm prints on your beloved piece of art.
4. Tiles
Have some tiles sitting around the house? It’s time you put them to use! Since they are quite heavy, place most of them on the sides and not on the doors. For them, you can only put a few rows of tiles or create nice patterns. If you cover them with tiles, they will become too heavy and eventually damage the doors.
5. Stencils
If you really want to try spray paint, we suggest you do it this way: after polishing the dresser, cut out some stencils using a large sheet of thick plastic, a pair of scissors and a lot of imagination.
If you can’t put together a pattern for your stencils, look online and you’ll find plenty. When you’re done, use the spray paint to decorate your dresser. You can also paint your dresser before doing the stencil patterns with a different color, for a bigger contrast.
6. Fabric
There are many people who choose to use fabric for many reasons: it’s very easy to use, it makes everything look cozy and it doesn’t need big alterations. You can go online and order a few yards of your favorite fabric and glue it to your dresser. We recommend that you only use cotton fiber, jersey and anything that’s not too see-through. Otherwise, your glue will show through and you don’t want that.
7. Wallpaper
Who said wallpaper has to be boring and smell like mold? There are so many cute patterns online, you’ll definitely want to buy at least ten rolls! But before you dive into this wallpaper sea, here’s what you should know: you have to ask the manufacturer if your favorite wallpaper will glue to wood.
Otherwise, you bought it for nothing. Plus, look online for tips on how to apply the wallpaper without forming air bubbles, because that’s what happens when you’re not a professional. Other than that, you can choose from a variety of shiny, chevron, plaid patterns that will brighten your home and your day!
8. Plastic lids
Yes, you’d need to have a lot of them or create cute patterns using it. In Romania, somebody decorated their entire home with plastic lids and it didn’t turn out bad.
Start collecting the lids from your soda bottles and glue them onto your dresser walls to form flowers, fruits, trees or Disney characters if it’s for a little girl. You don’t need that many if you’re only drawing the contour. Plus, you’ll have an unique piece of furniture in your home!
9. Broken mirrors
If you’re quite a clumsy person, it’s best to not try this at home. After all, mirror edges are sharp and we don’t want any incidents. But if you wear a pair of gloves and only handle the mirror pieces on sheet of plastic, why not give it a try? You don’t even have to buy the mirror: you can gather some of it from your house, relatives, friends or even a hardwood store.
They always have broken pieces. Once you have enough, break them into small pieces and glue them onto your dresser doors like you’d create a large puzzle. If you’re afraid the edges might be sharp, glue some fabric to avoid cuts and wounds.
10. Glitter? Why not?
If you’re making this for your little daughter or for yourself, as a guilty pleasure, you’ll have a lot of fun, but you’ll probably get glitter all over the place. Step 1: cover every side of your dresser in glue and apply glitter. Press it with your hand (wear gloves, OK?) until is set in place and then move on to another side.
Of course, you’ll need a huge amount of glitter, but if you already have it, why not? Whoever has huge supplies of glitter is going to be so happy right now! When you are all done, apply some wood polish with a brush. This way, you’ll keep the glitter from spreading all over the place.Now that you read our ideas, see which one fits you best and start working!
A new dresser can cost you thousands of dollars, but an old one will only cost a few bucks for the accessories and your entire attention for a couple of hours.
Showing it off to your friends and family, however, will be priceless! If you know other ways to revive and old dresser, share them with us and let’s learn from each other!
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