vintage painted dresser drawers

Vintage Painted Dresser with Yellow Drawers

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Yellow dresser drawers add just enough color to a painted furniture update without being over the top. Yellow furniture can be bold or neutral depending on which direction to take. This vintage painted dresser updated in mustard yellow with neutral taupe keeps the makeover neutral while still being unique. 

A vintage painted dresser is always a favorite, especially one with yellow dresser drawers. If you are looking for yellow painted furniture ideas you may find that there are many shades of yellow furniture paint. Who knew right? You can go bold and bright and paint furniture with sunshine yellow or a little less bold with a muted mustard. This time we are painting a yellow dresser and staying on the safer side of things with a creamy mustard yellow.

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Rewinding to how I came upon this piece in the first place. It was saved from an old barn in the Catskills where it was left alone and underappreciated for its vintage appeal. It was previously used as a buffet to store linens, in this barn turned living space. Until now.

the barn, catskills barn, old barn, upstate new york

Vintage Painted Dresser with Yellow Drawers

Materials Needed / Source List:

Before – Unfinished Vintage Dresser

The moment I saw this piece I fell in love with it, I’m not even sure why but I did. It’s gorgeous yet simple at the same time. I knew it wouldn’t take long for someone to claim it for their own. My customer came by with a piece of fabric from her home and we figured out a design plan for her “new to be” vintage painted dresserbarn-dresser-oak, vintage painted dresser, solid wood dresser, custom, staten island, new york, shabby

Prep & Paint for Painting Furniture

With snow on the way, I put my big girl pants on and managed to get this vintage dresser out of my truck, down a flight of stairs and into my shop ALL BY MYSELF! It wasn’t easy, I did it in steps and I managed to not trip and fall while doing it, considering I do have a habit of falling up the stairs. The vintage hardware is removed and the dresser sanded and cleaned prior to paint. The dust bunnies were vacuumed out with my shop vac and the drawers wiped clean. Here is my entire process for How to Prep Painted Furniture.unfinished-vintage-dresser, solid wood dresser, painted dresser

The decorative pieces at the bottom of the vintage dresser had both been damaged beyond repair, so they had to be removed and the area itself repaired. damaged-details, vintage dresser, damaged pieces, staten island

Painting a Vintage Dresser

The dresser body is painted a neutral taupe, while the drawers are painted in a mustard yellow for a pop of color. I recently finished a bold yellow media console and I think I’ve sparked interest in adding bold yellows, you can see that bold and cheery makeover here- Painted Media Console Sunshine Yellow. You can find great quality furniture paint and stain online HERE. An added bonus, when painting furniture, you want to make sure to use a quality non-toxic furniture paint.

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This yellow dresser is lightly sanded in between each coat to achieve a smooth soft finish. sand-in-between-coats, chalk paint, pure home paint, yellow paint, staten island, shabby chic

If you are just starting out you can always start at the beginning with How to Paint Furniture – a Beginners Guide.

how to paint furniture

Painting Vintage Hardware

I don’t always take photos of each stage of painting hardware, but decided to in the case of these vintage hardware pulls. The original pulls were a dark sort of bronze color. You can see my full process for painting hardware How to Clean, Prep & Paint Hardwarehardware-sanded, paint hardware, how to paint hardware, vintage hardware

Next, the pulls are painted in a light gray. This is after one very thin coat. hardware-gray-one-coat, painted hardware, vintage hardware

Here is after two coats, the second coat makes a big difference. hardware-gray

To get the metallic silver look that we are going for, I then add silver paint. hardware-silver, metallic paint, chalk paint, pure home paint, just the woods, painted hardware

The final result: vintage-painted-hardware, painted dresser, vintage furniture, vintage painted dresser, new york

Vintage Dressers = Wooden Drawer Tracks

Vintage dressers often have wooden tracks, which I love. But with wooden tracks, wood can sometimes stick. In the case of this piece, the wood doesn’t stick, but I’ve started to get into the habit of lubricating wooden tracks no matter what. Even though they don’t stick, by adding a little lubrication to them they glide so smoothly now!wooden-tracks-vintage-dresser, vintage dresser, vintage painted dresser, shabby chic, distressed, new york, staten island

I simply take a clean rag and my Daddy Vans all natural furniture wax and rub along the track of the dresser as well as the track on the bottom of the drawer.  Easy peasy. If you don’t have any Daddy Vans you get some (HERE)wood-tracks-daddy-vans, vintage dresser, drawers that stick

The Result – Vintage Painted Dresser with Yellow Drawers

The snowfall came and dumped a good foot and a half on us and if I had waited to get this vintage painted dresser inside I may not have finished in time. Good thing for my big girl pants 😉

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For more painted furniture before and after projects, and makeovers, make sure to check out all of my chalk paint furniture tutorials with over 90 projects here: The Ultimate Guide for Stunning Painted Furniture Ideas

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Care to see other furniture makeovers of pieces saved from the same old barn in the Catskills? Click to see this Desk Rescue in Memphis Blue post or this Eggplant Antique Parlor Table post.

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14 Comments

  1. That’s beautiful, Kandice… Love the choice of colours and the finish!

  2. Barb Cunningham says:

    Love it! What did you seal it with? ????

    1. thank you Barb, Im sorry I realize I forgot to mention it in the details but I did remember to include it in the materials needed section at the top. I sealed everything with Pure Home Paint clear protective sealer (I mixed matte and satin for this piece) 🙂

  3. You Go Girl – I can’t believe you hauled this dresser into the house yourself! Kandice, I love how you’re not afraid of color and this color combo is stunning together. I also love how you leave us with valuable tips and tricks. Pinned.

    1. Thank you Marie! It took 4 trips in and out to get that dresser inside by myself lol

  4. Great makeover! Love the yellow color and the removal of the detail by the legs really does modernize the cabinet. Visiting from Crazy Frenzy Friday party.

  5. I love old furniture pieces and it’s nice to see them made ‘new’ again. Thanks for sharing your dresser on Merry Monday.

  6. I was just flipping through my April issue of Better Homes and Gardens and as I was reading over the piece about the magic of paint, I paused for a minute when I saw your photo, thinking she looks familiar! How great that this lovely dresser was featured in the magazine! Congratulations! I wanted to stop by to have a closer look. It’s stunning.

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