Upcycling furniture is a great way to save money and add a new lease of life to something that would have otherwise been thrown away. You only need a few tools and a bit of DIY knowledge to turn an old chest of drawers or an old wardrobe into something worthy of a prime position in your home. In this article, we take a look at some tips for upcycling a chest of draws. 

Changing the colour

One of the best ways to upcycle an old chest of drawers is to alter the colour of the drawers. Changing the colour can completely transform your drawers to make them suitable for your current decoration. If you want to alter the colour, there are several steps to this process, detailed below: 

1. Firstly you’ll need to remove all of the handles and anything else that’s attached to the draws.
2. Next, you’ll need to sand your chest of drawers to remove any paint or varnish; once you’ve sanded and you’re left with a rough surface, you can wipe off any dust with a wet cloth and leave the drawers to dry.
3. Next, apply an undercoat to prepare the surface for the paint; ensure this covers all of the drawers and fully dries.
4. Now you can paint with your chosen colour; make sure you choose a paint that’s suitable for wooden surfaces. 
5. Finally, replace the handles once everything is fully dried.

Painting tips:

• You might find it easier to remove the drawers completely when painting the chest of drawers and the draw fronts. Removing them will ensure you cover all visible areas fully.
• If you have wooden handles on the draws you can sand and paint these the same colour or a contrasting colour to the rest of your drawers. 
• For a distressed look, you can use sandpaper after painting to remove some of the paint around the edges of the drawers. 

Changing the draw handles

Another easy way to upcycle a chest of drawers is to change the handles. This can be done as a standalone update, or along with painting the drawers a different colour. The simplest way to change the handles is to remove the old ones and use the same holes to fix the new ones in the drawers. However, if you select new handles that require different holes you’ll need to do some extra work filling up the old holes and drilling new ones in the correct place. Make sure if you’re creating a painted chest of drawers, you fill in the holes before you paint so you can paint over the filled holes and save time. The new holes can then be drilled once the drawers have been fully painted and the paint is dry. 

Adding patterns

If you want to create something more decorative, you can use a stencil and paint to add a pattern to your chest of drawers. Alternatively, you can add designs by purchasing vinyl decals that work on wooden surfaces. With very little effort, these can be adhered to the outside of the drawers, inside, or the edges of the drawers to change the appearance completely. You can get many different colours and patterns to match your preferred style.

Changing or adding feet

Altering the feet of your chest of drawers can also make a big difference in how the drawers look. You can buy lots of different foot options online which can simply be fixed to the base of the chest of drawers with screws. Make sure you measure the placement of the feet carefully to avoid your chest of drawers looking wonky. If you have a large chest of drawers, choose feet labelled heavy-duty to support the weight of the drawers.

These are a few ways to take an old chest of drawers and completely transform them into something that fits your home. If you’re interested in upcycling furniture, look online for detailed instruction videos which can help you perfect your furniture. Always make sure you cover any carpets when painting, or take and restore the item outside in a workshop, garage or shed. This will ensure you don’t damage anything else or make too much of a mess during the renovation process. Here is some more useful information on painting a dresser.