How To Easily Repaint A Chest Of Drawers

These pine chest of drawers have been in my boys’ shared bedroom for a few years now. I originally purchased them second hand and already upcycled in a gorgeous aqua colour. The colour happened to go with the random blue paint choice for the walls at the time. Love how those things happen!!

Initially I was not sure about whether to repaint a chest of drawers for the boys’ room refresh. But I am so glad I did! I love how, with just a bit of paint and some new handles, an old piece of furniture can become new again!

What happened to the missing drawer handles?

A couple of the pine knobs, which were painted white and distressed, broke over time.

The other missing handles Mum “borrowed” for a different furniture project and never got around to replacing them. Sorry kids!

The Plan

Since I am going for an industrialised, rustic kind of look in the boys’ shared bedroom, I decided to go with black handles.

My regular “go to place” for purchasing handles is Ebay.

I find there is a lot more choice online than the local hardware store, as well as better prices. If I don’t mind waiting the 2 to 6 week shipping time, it’s a great solution!

This time I bought these black pull handles from Ebay. It meant I could cover up the existing holes without having to fill them with putty. And they only cost a $1 each!

The Steps To Repaint A Chest Of Drawers

Due to the need to use up my existing paint supplies, the colour for this project was determined by what paint I already had on hand.

Thankfully, Seaside Fusion Mineral Paint that I used was a great colour choice!

Step 1 – Clean And Lightly Sand

I did give these painted boys drawers a light sand and a good clean before re-painting. Oh, yes and removed all the stickers.

The original paint is a mix of Annie Sloan chalk paint colours with a top coat of wax.

So sanding it made sure that the new paint would adhere better without having to use an undercoat.

Step 2 – No Undercoat Or Primer Needed. Just Paint.

Once the drawers were prepped, I painted them with 2 coats of Seaside Fusion Mineral Paint. This is a decorative finishing paint, which actually doesn’t require a undercoat or top coat.

The time between coats is longer though because of that, at minimum 12 hours.

Step 3 – Distress (Optional)

The original colour actually went really well with the new top colour so I decided that I wanted some of it to show through.

I just sanded parts of the new paint and scratched it a bit.

Yes, really, I used my finger nail and scratched the top layer of paint off in a few places.

Love how the aqua colour just peeps through.

Step 4 – Add Handles

Next I screwed the new handles into the wood, covering over the old holes.

The screw driver stripped a bit of the black paint off the screws. A few dabs of Coal Black Fusion Mineral Paint and all black again.

Step 5 – Apply Sealer

Really, I didn’t need to apply sealer because of the paint I used. Fusion Mineral Paint includes a primer, paint and top coat in the one product. However, with kids’ furniture I like to make sure it is really easy to wipe clean.

Update: since this repaint a chest of drawers I have had to wipe texta and pen marks off. Thankfully it came off with no problems!

A sealer also gives it a bit more sheen and I reckon the wood underneath appreciates the moisture.

So the chest of drawers got a coat of the lovely L’Essentiel liquid wax. My current favourite product to use as a top coat over furniture paint.