How to Paint the Perfect Navy Blue Painted Dresser

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How to paint a blue dresser and give it a masculine touch. A painted navy blue dresser is the perfect masculine painted furniture makeover. Blue painted furniture can be loved by everyone.

Masculine Blue Dresser

To some, this may just be a navy blue dresser, but to one man, it may be more. A step in a new direction, so to speak. You see, sometimes a man loves a woman and after a lifetime together one of them passes away. It’s sad, it’s lonely and it eventually happens to all of us. It’s something we don’t talk about or look forward to but it is life. Often the one left behind is left to pick up the pieces and has to figure out how to go on without their other half. Possibly updating or replacing the bedroom furniture is just a small step in moving on. This vintage chest on chest dresser is a wise choice for a man looking to add a masculine touch to his once peach bedroom.

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How to Paint a Masculine Blue Dresser 

Prepping the Vintage Dresser for Paint

This vintage, chest on chest tallboy was another warehouse save. There was a warehouse full of vintage furniture that I had the opportunity to scour through. Woohoo, it was fun. I almost didn’t take this piece, but I’m glad I made some room and squeezed it into my truck. It’s transformation really is something.

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When this vintage tallboy was brought into the shop and I discovered that the drawers had been protected with a paper liner. The paper liner actually crumbled as I removed it from the drawers. Such a small bit of history of this dresser, yet it served such a purpose because it managed to keep inside the drawers in great shape. I can’t help but wonder about the person who lined these drawers many years ago. I like to think it was an older woman like my late grandmother, but who knows. Sometimes it’s fun to think about the history of a piece or create a story based on the small bit of evidence left behind. 

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After removing the paper liner, the hardware was also removed and the entire piece was sanded and prepped in my standard How to Prep Painted Furniture fashion. 

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Blue is a Good Choice for a Masculine Painted Dresser

The dresser and drawers are all painted in a sort of a royal blue furniture paint. This is a gorgeous blue but not the right blue for this blue dresser. You can find great quality furniture paint online HERE

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I had a feeling that this blue was a bit too ‘young looking’ and less older man blue so I sent a photo to my customer. My feeling was correct, my customer agreed that this painted blue dresser appears to be more of a little boy blue and we wanted more of an adult masculine blue. Who knew blue had so many shades relating to age. 😛 We are aiming for a dark blue dresser

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Navy is a Better Choice for a Masculine Painted Blue Dresser

Luckily, this is an easy fix. With a 1:1 ratio mix of the original blue and black furniture paint I was able to create a more grown-up navy blue. The second coat applied was this deeper, more appropriate navy color. This is a much better version of blue paint for a blue painted dresser.

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The entire navy dresser is lightly sanded between coats for a smooth finish. But this dark blue dresser is not being distressed so I was careful to apply minimal pressure with a fine grit sandpaper. 

sand-smooth, blue painted dresser

New to painting furniture and not sure where to start? Start at the beginning with How to Paint Furniture – a Beginners Guide.

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The Hardware Dilemma

Initially, the plan was to keep the original hardware and paint it pewter. But after the regal navy blue paint job, the old hardware simply did not do this navy blue chest of drawers any justice. Thanks to D. Lawless and their amazing selection of drawer pulls I was able to replace the old vintage hardware with these Rustic Old World Pewter pulls. They are a much better fit for this painted navy blue dresser

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The new pulls have a chunky manly feel to them, don’t you agree?

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Painted Furniture Quick Tip

A quick note about vintage wooden dressers. Many vintage dressers have wooden drawer tracks, and when wood rubs against wood it could stick over time. One of the drawers of this blue painted dresser stuck just a little bit. So as an added precaution, I rubbed all of the tracks on all of the drawers of this navy blue dresser as well as any spot where wood rubbed against wood, with Daddy Vans Furniture Polish. It’s a soft all natural beeswax that smells lovely and after a small application, the drawers glide like a dream.  

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The Result – a Masculine Navy Blue Painted Dresser

With a little paint and hearty hardware, this vintage dresser is given a masculine touch. Add this beauty to the best blue painted furniture list.   

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Check out all of my furniture projects with over 90 painted furniture makeovers: Stunning painted furniture ideas.

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Add a masculine touch to an old vintage dresser with paint. A painted navy blue dresser is the perfect masculine painted furniture makeover. #paintedfurniture #bluepaintedfurniture #bluedresser #bluepainteddresser #navybluedresser #bluepaintedfurniture #darkbluepaintedfurniture #bluepaintedfurnitureideas
How to Add a Masculine Touch to an Old Dresser by Just the Woods

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Add a masculine touch to an old vintage dresser with paint. A painted navy blue dresser is the perfect masculine painted furniture makeover. #paintedfurniture #bluepaintedfurniture #bluedresser #bluepainteddresser #navybluedresser #bluepaintedfurniture #darkbluepaintedfurniture #bluepaintedfurnitureideas

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30 Comments

  1. I’m amazed with what you do! This dresser is another awesome project that proves you make magic!

    1. Those drawer handles are perfect, D. Lawless is such a great place to shop for that finishing touch!

  2. You do such beautiful work. Do believe the nave blue is best.

  3. Eveline van Heijst says:

    Awesome color. And I love the hardware.

  4. The color is so beautiful, and this is coming from someone who is hard pressed to find any shade of blue that I actually like! And the satin finish is luxurious. Beautiful job, awesome results! And the hardware is perfect for this piece.

      1. Would you happen to know the maker of the dresser. I have one very similar but it has a serial number but no maker.

  5. Do you find that over time, the paint chips? I painted an old dresser a few years ago and it is chipping on top and on the top of the drawers. Do you have any tips for a top coat or other that would prevent this? I have plans to paint another wooden dresser I have and want this one to be a bit more successful!

    1. hi, no, I’ve never had paint chip.. what type of paint are you using? I think it has a lot to do with proper prep, quality paint and sealer.

  6. Hi, I really like how this turned out. Beautiful job!!. We are about to paint our daughter’s china cupboard in a gray. What do you suggest? I know she is looking for a darker gray. I an going to read over your instructions to see what you have done. My husband and I have revamped things before, but prefer to make them ourselves. So we are accustomed to hard work.

    1. Hi, I just clicked on our link. They are all beautiful. I like the sideboard the best. I will have to show my daughter. Thanks for your help.

  7. AMAZING!! Your work is uniquely beautiful! Thanks for sharing.

  8. The dresser looks perfect. I like to make up stories as I am working on a piece. Oh, what the furniture could tell us.

  9. Kandice, I really love how you transformed this dresser and I’ve chosen this as one of our features at Share Your Style. Hope to see you tomorrow evening for our party!

  10. Sally Carroll says:

    Your Navy version is pure genius. . But If you don’t happen to have beeswax on hand .. just rub a bar of soap on the drawer runners and the drawer edges,

    1. Its beautiful. Looks professionally done. The color is a winner and the handles you chose are perfect. Great job.

  11. May be a dumb question but I’m going to ask. In your materials list you have a matte and a satin protective finish. Which one did you use on the blue dresser? Thank you. The dresser looks awesome!

    1. not a dumb question mike. Most likely I used both, sometimes I mix the satin and matte together when I cant decide which one I prefer to use 🙂

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