All in ONE Painted DIY Dresser Makeover

Check out this DIY Dresser Makeover with All in ONE paint. I love the simplicity of the design, but it still packs a punch!

Get more DIY dresser makeover ideas here!

Let’s flip this dresser from the Thrift store!

It was originally $100, but they busted the base when they were loading it… so we ended up getting it for $80 instead. Either way though, it was a steal of a deal. This piece is solid, and such good quality!

Table of Contents

Supplies Used for All In One DIY Dresser Makeover

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I also may earn from other qualifying purchases with other companies or get free product to review and use. All opinions are my own.

Prepping a Dresser for Paint

So before we could do anything else, we had to fix that base.

I glued it and put it back together how it was.

And then, I made it more durable by screwing the base into the dresser instead of relying on glue and wood braces that were holding it together before.

Gluing the broken base of the dresser back together.

I used this mini pocket hole jig to drill new holes into the apron, and then I screwed in the pocket hole screws.

Since the wood that I was drilling into was ¾” thick, I just clamped the jig up to the edge of the wood, set the drill bit to the right depth, and then drilled away.

Drilling pocket holes into the dresser base with a mini pocket hole jig

Then I used the 1 ¼” screws to screw the base to the dresser. Now the base is nice and sturdy!

Remove Hardware and Clean Dresser

Alright, then I got back to the normally scheduled programming.

I removed the hardware with my handy dandy electric screwdriver. And cleaned the dresser really well with Krud Kutter and an old rag.

Learn more about how to clean furniture before painting here.

Fill in Dresser Damage and Hardware Holes

Then I filled in the chipped veneer and one hole from each piece of hardware, so I could put new hardware on these drawers.

Check out this post to learn about the best filler for filling holes when replacing cabinet or furniture hardware.

Sand Top to Remove Damaged Finish

While that all dried, I got rid of the damaged finish on the top.

I sanded it all down with 80 grit sandpaper, then 120 grit sandpaper… then 180 grit sandpaper, and finished it off with 220 grit sandpaper. Learn more about sandpaper for furniture painting here.

The wood was SO pretty! And I considered leaving it natural wood… But I already had a plan and that didn’t include having a wood top.

Sand KwikWood and Dresser Base

By the time I was done sanding the top, the Kwikwood was dry, so I sanded that down. And then I sanded the base down to bare wood… I folded an 80 grit piece of sandpaper in half to get into the crevices by hand.

Sanding the crevices on the dresser base with 80 grit sandpaper

Fill Wood Scratches and Hide Wood Grain

Then I started to scuff sand the rest of the dresser with 220 grit sandpaper.. and realized that there were still some dings and scratches I needed to fill in.

Learn more about the importance of sanding before painting furniture here.

So I filled those in… and while I was at it, I spread thinned out spackling over the areas that I had sanded down to bare wood, so you wouldn’t be able to see all of the wood grain after I painted it.

Learn more about how to hide wood grain when painting here.

Dresser with spackling and wood filler covering the holes and areas of bare wood

While that dried, my husband traded me off and taped off the drawers using this method to prevent overspray when painting.

And then he sanded basically everything again and cleaned it all up with the shop vac and a tack cloth.

Prime Dresser to Block Stains

Then he sprayed 2 coats of BIN shellac all over the dresser.

Priming dresser with BIN Shellac spray can

The spray can version is definitely not cost-effective at all. It took 3 cans…. And there still wasn’t complete coverage… but we went with it anyway.

Learn more about the best primers for painting furniture here.

And we let it dry overnight to give us the best stain-blocking coverage that it could. (Yeah, even after scuff sanding the dresser, I still primed it so then I wouldn’t have bleedthrough issues where the wood tannins stain the paint.)

Shellac is the easiest way to prevent it.

Sand Primed Dresser and Caulk Necessary Areas

It was super rough when it was all dry, so we definitely had to sand it to knock it all down to a smooth surface.

Then I took this time to caulk some areas and fill some small dings that I couldn’t see before.

Painting a Dresser with All in ONE Paint

Alright, after all of that, it was time to actually paint. This time I used Melange’s All in ONE paint in the color Knapsack. Is it green? Is it cream?…. It seems to be more of a light green.

Using a paint sprayer to spray the first coat of paint on the dresser

As always, I mixed some water into the paint, and then I sprayed on a coat of paint.

Learn more about how to thin paint for Wagner sprayer here and how to thin paint for Wagner FLEXiO Sprayer here.

I ended up with 3 coats of paint. I probably could have gotten away with 2… But I like to make more work for myself, so I did 2 coats.

Then I lightly sanded everything with a fine foam pad to make it feel nice and smooth, and then I sprayed the last coat. This paint doesn’t need a top coat though, so hey, I still saved a lot of time! Haha

And I actually really, really love this paint! Check out this dark green dresser I painted with Melange ONE paint in this how to fix damaged wood furniture before painting post!

Learn more about the best all-in-one paints for furniture here.

Six drawer dresser after 3 coats of paint had been sprayed on it.

Whitewash Dresser Base

Then I worked on the base. I wanted to whitewash it.

I still had to repair the chipped wood. So I filled those areas with Kwikwood, and then I shaped it with the putty knife so I wouldn’t have to do much sanding once it was dry.

Head over here to learn more about repairing old furniture.

When it was dry, I sanded it to smooth it out, and then I put some thinned-out orange paint, and some brown paint on it to make it blend in better.

It wasn’t perfect, but it was a lot better than it was before!

Using a small paint brush and thinned out orange and brown paint to cover and blend repaired areas on dresser base

Then I wiped some whitewash onto the wood. Head over here to learn more about how to whitewash furniture. Or see how I tried to whitewash the laminate top of this painted dresser!

Get more whitewashed furniture ideas here.

Brushing whitewash onto the raw wood base of the dresser

Seal Whitewashed Wood

When the whitewash was dry… like 10 minutes later…I experimented and mixed some of the Knapsack paint and some light grey paint into wax.

And then I brushed it on to help protect the wood… but I also wanted to see if it would add any more dimension to the whitewash… and maybe tone the orange wood down a little more too.

Check out this great tutorial on how to tone down orange wood furniture.

I don’t know if it really made much of a difference.. but I love the final look!

And here’s what it looks like now!

Close view of whitewashed wood base and painted DIY dresser.

Full view of dresser painted with Melange ONE in the color Knapsack and white knobs

More Before And After Makeovers

Click any of these “before” photos below to view the “after” of that makeover.

Dresser painted with Melange ONE in Knapsack with a whitewashed base and white knobs

Side view of finished DIY dresser makeover with Melange ONE Knapsack paint and white knobs

What do you think?? I love it!! It’s pretty close to what I envisioned in my head… though the color is a little more green than I imagined. But I love green, so I love it!

I thought about cutting the base and making it all straight… but I’m so glad that I left it in its original shape.

If you want more amazing furniture makeover ideas, check out this post for inspiration and step-by-step guides on how to transform your furniture into stunning pieces.

All In One Painted DIY Dresser Makeover

You can never go wrong with all-in-one paint. Here are the steps for this All In One painted DIY dresser makeover.

Materials

Tools

Instructions

Start by making the base durable by screwing it into the dresser. Use the mini pocket hole jig to drill new holes for the screws.
Proceed to prep the rest of the dresser for paint by removing hardware and cleaning the dresser really well with Krud Kutter. Fill in any damage and the hardware holes.
Sand the dried wood filler and scuff sand the rest of the dresser with 220 grit sandpaper. For any wood scratches, fill those in as well and spread thinned out spackling over the areas that you had sanded down to bare wood. This is so you wouldn’t be able to see all of the wood grain after painting.
Now, tape off the drawers to prevent overspray when painting. Sand everything again and clean up all the dust with the shop vac and a tack cloth.
Prime the dresser with 2 coats of BIN shellac to block stains. Let primer dry overnight. When it dries and it's super rough, sand the dresser smooth again.
Apply 2-3 coats of all-in-one paint onto the dresser. Lightly sand everything with a fine foam pad to make it feel nice and smooth.
Wipe some whitewash and seal the whitewash with a mix of knapsack paint and some light grey paint into wax.
Add dresser hardware.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

More All in One Paint Resources

Or share your project with us on our Facebook Group and be part of our community. See you there!

All in ONE Painted DIY Dresser Makeover

Supplies Used for All In One DIY Dresser Makeover