Painted Furniture Ideas: One Dresser, Four Completely Different Looks
Written by: Casey Grace
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Time to read 5 min
Designing the transformations is my favorite part of this work. The options are endless, and to prove it, I'm showing you one dresser — four completely different design solutions. Same bones, same nine drawers, four totally different lives. Each speaks to a different customer and a different design style, and by the end, I want you to tell me which one you'd bring home.
Meet Jacob
Jacob is a standard nine-drawer dresser, very common in the 1950s–60s. There's no maker's mark, so we can't tell you who built him — but he has all the telltale signs of a well-made vintage piece. He's heavy. His drawers are dovetailed. And you can see solid wood construction throughout the piece, not veneer over particleboard.
Before a piece is put into production, I consider four things - Strengths, Weakness, Scale, and Trends.
Strengths:
What does this piece already have going for it, or what can I emphasize or enhance? On Jacob, the big feature is his nine drawers. The design lines on the lower drawers also present a unique hardware opportunity, which you'll see in the last look below. Also the number of pulls or knobs can emphasize or limit your perception of its storage capability. More on that below.
Weaknesses
I often look to simplify the form. If there are details that can be removed or filled in, I'll often choose to, especially on dressers or buffets. Jacob doesn't have any corner flourishes, but there is an extra panel on each of the upper drawers. Does that enhance the design or detract from it? Honestly, it could go either way. But it does limit my hardware choices. That panel dictates how large a knob I can put there. It also just feels a bit fussy to me. I'll choose to remove it on one option.
Scale
Jacob is 64" wide, a pretty standard dresser width. That means he can work in a lot of places: bedroom, entryway, dining buffet, TV console. I strive to design looks that will work in any of these settings. Also, the choice of hardware can make a piece look smaller or larger, so that will be a consideration in our options below.
Trends
Are there big color trends in what's selling at CGS right now? What are customers choosing more of; whether they're customizing a Rescue piece or buying something already Refinished? What am I seeing on social media, or from key trend-setting retailers? There are lots of places to look for trend inspiration, but honestly that's a separate post all by itself.
To recap, Jacob's strengths are his nine generous drawers, his simplified form, and his standard scale. That gives me a lot of room to play. Here's what I came up with.
Four Looks - One Dresser
Painted Furniture Ideas
Traditional Blue
Image created by Casey.
One of our most popular colors is Bachelor Blue, a soft, versatile blue dresser can fit almost anywhere. I haven't used this color in a while, and every piece I've done in it sells fast, so I started here. I'd call this color a true neutral. It fits comfortably into multiple design styles: Contemporary, Transitional, Coastal. If you only trust one color to work in almost any room, this is it.
Here, Jacob is in a satin finish, in a color similar to Mulberry, a rich burgundy dresser look that leans slightly pink when you see it up close. (Check out the Nefertiti set, done in the same color, if you want to see it on a different silhouette.)
What sets this one apart is its satin finish rather than our signature high gloss. We're expanding into satin and matte options in addition to high gloss going forward. More on that soon.
A quick note on finish: Satin and Matte options are still a lacquer product, not paint. It's a common misconception. People conflate a high gloss finish to mean lacquer, but sheen and material are two different things. Check out Furniture Paint vs Lacquer: What’s the Difference.
I went with polished nickel hardware here to really lean into a more contemporary vibe. I usually reach for brass. I have only once seen a vintage piece of furniture with silver-toned hardware. Most are solid brass or brass-plated. It seems like nickel and chrome didn't really enter the retail furniture market until recently. In fact a quick peak at CB2 and Restoration Hardware show all their dresser hardware is black or a brass tone. Silver tones are offered most in cabinet knobs to match the plumbing fixtures. But that doesn't mean your furniture has to be matchy. Regardless, neither finish is "wrong,"; it's really about how the tone works with the color.
This contemporary version of Jacob would sit beautifully in a home full of dark neutrals — or, just as easily, in a more traditional room looking for one rich accent piece.
Here, Jacob leans into his feminine side. I took advantage of the drawer configuration in the lower section (the trim on those drawers crosses two drawers at once), which opens up the option for hardware that spans the seam. I've used this style many times on Bianca, Reece, and Theodore. It comes from My Oh America, and is also offered in a version with straight corners instead of curved. For the upper drawers, I used knobs from the same maker to keep the finishes consistent. Mixing hardware brands can get tricky, since finishes aren't standardized across the industry.
The color here leans toward Light Quartz, the same one used on Peyton — a soft pink finish with a little more polish than a typical pastel. Despite the soft color and glamorous hardware, this piece is just as flexible as the others: bedroom, entryway, dining buffet, TV console. The hardware is refined enough that the color could easily pull an accent tone out of a wallpaper pattern or perhaps pillow decor.
Now this is the option that makes Jacob seem smaller than he is. Putting one big hardware moment in the middle looks like there are fewer drawers. I'm not sure that's a good move on this piece, but I wanted to point this out. Although subtle, to someone doing a quick browsing session, they may assume this is much smaller and not even check the dimensions.
Jacob's last look is a dark navy dresser finish, back in high gloss. Any navy, in my mind, is a neutral — it fits almost any design scenario. Here, I removed the extra panel above the upper drawers, which opened up room for more dramatic hardware up top. I modeled this one after Wren, a longer version of Jacob that we get constant back-in-stock requests for. This version will appeal to anyone with a formal home that isn't afraid of color, a dark and moody aesthetic, or anyone who just needs one anchor piece to make a statement. This is Jacob at his most Hollywood Regency.
One dresser, four completely different options, and so many more to consider. Which one is calling your name? Has one of these sparked an idea for a piece of your own? That's exactly why I do this. Drop me a note in the comments. I'd love to know which one spoke to you and why.
Style:
Traditional Blue
Rich Burgundy
Romantic Pink
Moody Navy
Hardware:
Amazon
Rejuvenation
My Oh America
Art and Forge
Hungry for more options. Check out some of my favorites below.
Named for my Grandma (& the original designer), the Dorothy Thorpe Espana chest is truly beautiful ~ destined to be a family heirloom. The care and attention to detail Casey gives is remarkable. Love “Dorothy” and have nothing but praise for Casey, the smooth process & beautiful result! Can’t thank you enough.
Thank you so much for the excellent personal service. Millie loves her new home and I love having a beautiful piece in which to store all of my clothes. Everything you do is with care and it shows!
