This Repurposed Dresser is a project I did when I was a part of the Country Chic Paint Contributor Team. This transformation is one of my favorites because it illustrates how an old dresser with drawers that aren’t working or don’t match, can still be made into a beautiful and functional piece.
When I first saw this dresser, I walked right past it. Then, something made me stop and take another look.
This dresser was in need of some major L-O-V-E. Can we just start (and stop) with the knobs. What a mess! There were knobs are missing. Knobs were placed in wrong places. Knobs were broken.
To start this transformation, I painted it. I mixed “Simplicity”, “Lazy Linen” and “Hurricane” together to get a soft blueish/grayish color (and yes, that is the technical name). Once I got the outer part of the dresser done and one coat on the drawer fronts, I stepped back and had an “A-Ha” moment.
It looks so much better already. Let’s roll with this!
I removed the center “rungs” for the bottom of each shelf and painted the inside the same color.
This is now a functional bookshelf!
I love old, locker baskets, but this would look equally amazing with dark wicker baskets on the shelves.
This dresser has come a long way from its “knobby” past. Once again, I have learned never to pass on the “ugly” duckling. Most things have potential and sometimes it just takes a little time to see it. I was planning on filling in the holes of the drawers to this dresser and getting new knobs for it. I am so happy I had the “A-Ha” moment and came up with a better way to repurpose this dresser.
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If you liked this Repurposed Dresser Turned Bookshelf project, you will also love these upcycled projects:
DIY Step Ladder Beverage Station
How To Turn A Curbside Dresser Into A Bar
Easy Upcycled Table Centerpiece
Lindsay…forgot to let you know last week that I both pinned and shared on FB. Hope you are having a great start to your week. This was a great project. Thank you.
Thank you so much Denise!
Isn’t it wonderful to give an old piece new life? Wonderful save, I hope you saved the knobs as well for a future project 🙂 You did a great job!
Thank you!
LOVE this idea. Especially for all those dressers with missing drawers at Goodwill and on Craigslist!
Thank you!
That turned out great. Where will you use it?
We sold it. We didn’t have room for it. 🙁
Just wanted to make this clear to myself. So all you did was repaint it, removed the center things, and that was pretty much it? Besides the baskets.
Because if so, then I am definitely going this route for mine. I bought a dresser for my fiance and I last income tax from Walmart for $80, but we didn’t have it more than a month and the bottom drawers refuse to stay on track to slide in and out. I grew tired of putting them back on track so I wanted to turn it into a storage shelf for my fabrics for sewing. I just had no idea how to start the job. I looked up tons of tutorials, but everyone did some kind of wood work first, and me with zero knowledge of those kinds of tools and the lack of money for those tools. I honestly thought I was screwed. So, I decided to give Pinterest a search and came across your project, and if it’s as easy as you made it sound, then maybe there is some hope for my dresser and myself after all.☺️
Yes! I would try that. It sounds like your drawers might be on some kind of track? I would just unscrew that track from the inside after you take the drawers out and then paint. Good luck!
Did you need to sand it before painting? What type of paint? Mine has a shiny glaze over it.
You can sand it if you want to, but I have had the best luck with this product from Dixie Belle Paint: {aff} https://bit.ly/2wGbPpt
Why do bookshelves need wire baskets? Or ANY kind of baskets for that matter
Don’t need them. That’s just what I used for this one.