20 Funky Ways To Update Your Chest of Drawers: Ideas & Inspiration

Your drawers endure a lot of wear. Therefore, it’s nice to update them occasionally and remove the visible damage. Luckily, there are numerous creative and simple methods to achieve this!

Create something new to match the rest of the house or make something that stands out. Check out these 20 funky ways to update your chest of drawers today!

20 Unique Ideas for Upgrading Your Chest of Drawers

1. Retro Chest of Drawers

Using this DIY, you can make a retro room come to life or have a standout piece. Perfect for a hallway, craft room, or child’s bedroom, a retro chest of drawers is a great choice for a makeover. Whether you want a Mad Men-inspired bedroom or a whimsical touch of the past, this update is perfect.

Be different and bold! Try something inspirational yourself. Use this tutorial to create a playful and artsy project. Choose your favorite shades of pink and have fun with it.

The organic dripping look of this dresser design allows for a unique and messy finish that looks great.

Maybe your daughter wants a chic and girly look, or perhaps you’re aiming for a high-end boutique style. Achieve this with a DIY project by using beautiful mirrors to refurbish an old chest. Mirrors not only add elegance but also create the illusion of space, making small rooms appear larger.

For a stunning art deco touch, consider adding a mirror glass top.

Need storage? Skip the label maker and go for something 3-D. Find what you need faster and revamp your old chest. It will be unique and full of personality.

Use wooden labels to organize anything in this chest of drawers. Create contrasting typography for easy reading.

This chest is perfect for a little boy’s room, but it can also be transformed into a stylish piece for any room. Repainting it and adding sleek stripes is a great idea. Imagine a red chest with black or white stripes, or a light pink chest with pretty yellow stripes.

Stripes can bring a masculine and sporty touch to any bedroom design, just be sure to paint them carefully to avoid wiggly lines.

6. Collage Chest of Drawers

Adding pretty things can elevate anything. A new coat of paint and whatever you desire will make it funky, fresh, and better than before. The asymmetrical vibe of this dresser design gives it a playful feel.

Incorporate collage items with colors from the room to blend it into your overall design.

If you’re crafty and can free-hand something magical, that’s fabulous. But not everyone is so lucky, and stencils work wonders. Stencil on designs to create something epic for your house!

Stencils come in a variety of designs, so you’re sure to find the perfect pattern for your space.

8. Bar Chest of Drawers

An upcycled chest of drawers is a great frame for a DIY home bar. If you have a dresser at home missing drawers or find a tattered one on the curb, some TLC can give you a perfect piece of furniture to display your liquor or shot glass collection. This DIY bar made from a discarded chest of drawers at My Creative Days even includes ice storage and a glass rack. (via My Creative Days)

If you want to add a metallic accent to your chest of drawers, update it with nailhead trim. This trim can be tedious to install but not very difficult, making it a good DIY project for beginners. Use bright gold or copper nail trim for dark dressers or darker nailhead trim for light dressers to make it stand out against the wood. (via Grillo Designs)

10. Refurbished Chest of Drawers

If you have an old chest of drawers that you’re thinking of throwing away, reconsider. You can refurbish it using The Spruce’s tutorial to give it a modern look. Just paint it and replace the drawer pulls to make it look completely different. (via The Spruce)

Transform your chest of drawers with this conversion project from In My Own Style. This dresser renovation requires moderate woodshop skills, but the effort is worth it for this unique drop leaf desk. It’s perfect for a dorm room or guest bedroom. (via In My Own Style) 12. Decoupage Chest of Drawers with Vintage Birds

Decoupage is a popular way to renovate a chest of drawers, and this vintage bird decoupage from Mod Podge Rocks! adds retro class to any boudoir. Beginner skills are all you need for this design, but you can personalize it by seeking out your own decoupage designs. Laser-jet printed images work best to avoid bleeding. (via Mod Podge Rocks!)

Sometimes you don’t need to refurbish your entire dresser to give it a funky upgrade. Adding DIY drawer pulls can instantly update your look without requiring a bunch of woodworking or refinishing. Redoing the pulls on a dresser is the best way to tie it in better with the rest of the room’s design by incorporating accent colors, patterns, or themes. (via Apartment Therapy)

Here’s another update that converts a chest of drawers into a rustic bathroom vanity. Carpentry skills are required to cut out a section for the sink. This project is best for crafters with some experience. After refinishing the chest of drawers and positioning it, a plumber can be called to connect everything. (via Lynn Fern)

15. Chest of Drawers Play Kitchen

If you have children and an old chest of drawers, you can turn it into a children’s play kitchen. This project at Arrow Hill Cottage sparks young imaginations while upcycling furniture. An upcycled chest of drawers provides storage for pretend food, play utensils, and other kitchen items (via Arrow Hill Cottage).

16. DIY Chest of Drawers Dresser Overlays

One way to update room decor is by incorporating patterns and textures. Dresser overlays are thin wooden cutouts that can be placed on dresser drawers to create a raised pattern, adding visual interest to the furniture. Overlays can be added in the same color as the chest of drawers or in a contrasting color for a more dramatic effect (via My Overlays).

17. DIY Chest of Drawers Dresser Kitchen Island

Another way to repurpose an old chest of drawers in your home is by creating a DIY dresser kitchen island, as shown in this project from Hometalk. Triple dressers are a great choice for this purpose, as they provide ample counter space and storage, making them ideal for small kitchens. By distressing the chest of drawers and applying a coat of milk paint, you can give it a rustic farmhouse look that complements any kitchen design. This repurposed piece can be used to store silverware, dried herbs, and other kitchen utensils, adding functionality to your space. (via Hometalk)

When updating a chest of drawers, you don’t have to completely redo it. Adding a touch of bright color in milk paint can bring a funky accent and make it look brand-new. Adding an accent color to your dresser pulls in colors from elsewhere in the room and highlights the best parts of its trim. (via D.D.’s Cottage)

To upgrade a chest of drawers, transform it into a storage bench. This DIY project requires moderate carpentry skills, but is still easy enough to complete with a tutorial. This piece provides storage and seating, making it more useful than a regular chest of drawers. You’ll need an oversized dresser for this project to allow space for the bench. (source: My Repurposed Life)

If you want to update your chest of drawers without creating a dramatic change, this small update can add pizzazz without much work or material. You can also use variations of the same patterns to line the inside of the dresser drawers for a rich and sophisticated vibe. The best thing about this update is that you only see the patterns when the drawers are pulled out, so it’s a welcome pop of pattern and color in unexpected places! (via A Beautiful Mess)