How to Prep & Paint a Vintage Dresser

If you have a vintage dresser or piece of furniture, you might have thought about painting it but was nervous about producing a final result that would be both beautiful and durable. Today I’ll be sharing my best tips to ensure you have a great finished product by prepping correctly and using the right tools and methods to paint a vintage dresser.

If you haven’t seen the previous posts about this dresser, you might be interested in catching up here:

What to Look for In a Vintage Dresser

How to Repair a Wood Drawer Slide on a Vintage Dresser

Repairing Bubbled or Chipped Veneer Before Painting a Dresser

In this video I will take you through the steps of cleaning and lightly sanding the dresser to give it some “tooth” for the paint to adhere to, what qualities I look for in paint I use for furniture, painting techniques to get smooth even coats, and how to apply top coat with a brush for durable finish.

Here is a closer look at the topcoat I used (and the brush):

The paint I used was Behr Marquee Interior Eggshell Acrylic Latex Paint color matched to Farrow and Ball Hague Blue.

The color is quite dark in most lights, and I love the moodiness of this picture in the afternoon light.

I listed this piece on Facebook Marketplace for too good of a deal apparently because it was sold in a few hours and even had one person harass me to give her the contact info of the person who bought it (I didn’t). haha!

Painting furniture has waned in popularity, but I still think it can be a great way to freshen up an older piece that has cosmetic damage to give it a new life. A way to keep it fresh and modern is to give it a bold, dark color, which is why I chose this deep blue.