The Green Painted Modern Dresser

A little bit of paint goes a long way in updating and transforming any piece of furniture, and this modern dresser is no exception! Here is how to easily DIY paint your furniture, just like this Green Painted Modern Dresser.

Get more Green Painted Furniture Ideas here!

The Green Painted Modern Dresser

From the moment I laid eyes on this dresser on Facebook Marketplace, I could see it in green with gold knobs.

Usually, I figure out what to do with a piece of furniture after it has sat around my shop for a while, but not this one!

It was scratched up with broken hardware but had amazing modern lines.

The scratches and hardware were easy to fix.

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Supplies Used:

• Old Vintage Dresser
• Krud Kutter – to clean off the dirty dresser
• Kwikwood – to fill the hardware holes
• Sandpaper
• Tack Cloth – amazing rags to wipe off dust and lint
• Paint Brush or Paint Sprayer
• Green Chalk Style Paint – I used the limited edition Wild Clover Paint from Country Chic Paint, you can use Fireworks as an alternative
• Water – Based Polyurethane
• New Knobs

Step 1: Prep the Dresser for Paint

I know this is always the step that most people want to skip. I think that’s why chalk paint became so popular, because it was advertised as no-prep paint.

And you can totally go that route, if you want all of your hard work of painting to end in easily scratched furniture.

No matter what kind of paint you use, whether it’s chalk paint, latex paint, ceramic paint or milk paint, you need to clean off the surface that you’re painting and give the paint something to actually hold onto. 

Learn How to Prepare Furniture For Painting.

If there isn’t anything to hold it onto the furniture’s surface, then you’ll run into scratching and peeling paint. 

Part of prepping furniture sometimes includes filling in the old hardware holes to make new holes for new hardware.

It also includes drilling holes for the new hardware.

If you will be changing the hardware, learn about the best way to fill hardware holes, drill new holes for hardware, and change hardware on a dresser.

Step Two: Paint the Dresser Green

Now here comes the fun part: painting the dresser green!

This green paint is an absolutely stunning color called Wild Clover from Country Chic Paint.

This shade is a Limited Edition Spring/Summer color, but you can find other beautiful shades from their shop.

Country Chic Paint is a furniture paint company that offers eco-friendly clay-based paints. It acts just like chalk-style paint does too!

This means that the paints have great adhesion. They’re fast-drying and also super easy to distress.

It is honestly my go-to store for paints and has been for years!

How to Paint without Brush Marks

Country Chic Paint also has these Painting Sponges that make painting furniture details easy!

The sponges also help you get a brush-free finish when you thin the paint out a bit with water, and then brush the paint on in thin coats. Also, they are really, really amazing for applying water-based polyurethane. 

If I didn’t have a paint sprayer, these painting sponges would be my go to! 

My preferred method is using a paint sprayer for a brush-free finish. This is the best way to How to Paint Furniture Without Brush Marks.

If you want a true brush-free finish on your painted furniture, I really recommend this cheaper paint sprayer.

I used it for three years on all of my painted furniture before I finally upgraded to a professional sprayer. 

If using a paint sprayer intimidates you, here are some great guides to learning how to paint furniture with a paint sprayer.

This dresser used up a pint of paint with a paint sprayer. If you’re brushing it on, you might use a little less than a pint for a dresser of this size.

Optional Step: Distress the Edges of your Dresser

This is optional, as it is obviously totally up to what your style is!

I personally love a good distressing around the edges, so I distressed this dresser just a bit.

Learn more about how to distress furniture here!

Step Three: Topcoat your Painted Dresser

Chalk-style paint needs to be topcoated for extra durability, especially if you want to wipe it down or for it not collect as much dust.

You could wax chalk paint, but I don’t find wax as easy to use, and the whole process takes a long time.

Instead of waxing chalk paint, I used a water-based polyurethane. Varathane Polyurethane is the best stuff out there!

I haven’t had yellowing issues and it is cheaper than name brands. Most of all, it dries to a very durable smooth finish!

The best way that apply poly by hand is to dampen a Country Chic Paint painting sponge, and brush it on moderately.

Make sure to only wipe it once, maybe twice, and then leave it alone to dry, because the more you touch it, the more streaky it gets.

My favorite way to apply poly onto my painted furniture is to spray it through my paint sprayer. Learn ALL of my tips and tricks on How to Spray Polyurethane here!

Poly has the best durability once you apply three or more coats, so don’t just apply one and be done.

Take a few more hours to apply a couple more coats before being done.

Step Four: Attach the New Hardware

Yay!! You are basically done!

Now just screw or attach the new hardware into the new holes that you drilled!

Step back and admire your work, because you did it!!

Happy painting, friends!!!

More Furniture Makeovers:

• How to Distress Furniture
• The Green Empire Dresser
• How to Paint with a Paint Sprayer
• The Best Paint for Furniture
• How to Paint Over Oil Based Paint

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