Upcycling furniture is so much fun. I always thought it looked fun watching Chip and Joanna Gaines do it on HGTV, so when my son Landon moved from his crib to a big boy bed, I had some space for a dresser. It’s the perfect opportunity to upcycle!

Upcycle Furniture [Dresser Tutorial]

But, what is upcycling? Well, there are tons of upcycling projects – you can upcycle furniture, upcycle clothes, upcycle bottles… you can even upcycle a wedding dress!

In this case, I upcycled furniture.

I bought an old dresser at the Salvation Army in Pompano Beach, Florida for $85.

My plan was to paint it white, then sand off a lot of that paint to get that distressed look. So, this is what I did to distress an old dresser.

How to Upcycle a Dresser

Step 1: Remove the hardware

Step 2: Cover the holes from where the previous hardware was installed.

Step 3: Sand the dresser, but don’t over sand where you patched the holes if you’re going for the distressed look, like I was.

Step 4: Paint the dresser white, then let it dry.

Step 5: Paint the dresser navy blue, then let it dry.

Step 6: Paint the dresser white again, then let it dry.

(Why so much painting in different colors? Well, I wanted it to look distressed with the colors that matched Landon’s nautical themed room.)

Step 7: Sand the dresser you just painted. In some spots sand a little more to give it a distressed look. I focused more on the edges where it would get natural wear and tear as well as some random areas all over.

Step 8: Install the new hardware. I went with nautical themed knobs I found at Hobby Lobby. Because I couldn’t find six of the same knob I wanted, I chose two arrows for the top row, and four maps for the rest of the drawers. The knobs cost me about $42 total.

Step 9: Move the dresser into the room.

Step 10: Step back and enjoy your upcycled distressed furniture.

Upcycled Chest of Drawers Cost

The total cost of this project was around $162.

Dresser = $85 at the Salvation Army

Drawer Knobs = $42 at Hobby Lobby

Electric Sander = $35 at Home Depot

Paint = left over from previous projects

Have you ever upcycled furniture or have great upcycled furniture ideas? Let me know and share a picture. I want to see your custom piece!

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