Here’s quick and easy way to bring extra pizzazz to a plain dresser. Try your hand at stenciling. Stenciling is easy, inexpensive and rewarding. Grab a stencil form, a little paint and a stencil brush and you’re good to go. I’ll even give you a few terrific ideas to get you started.
Why stencil a dresser?
You can take an ordinary dresser and make it shine with a couple quick, well-placed stencil images. You can start with an old chest of drawers or triple dresser – just give it a fresh coat of paint to revive its overall image. Or you can purchase a new or unfinished piece of furniture to paint or stain for your stencil project. Either way, when you’re done, you’ll be surprised how a little effort will go a long way to dress up your dresser.
Motivated? Great – let’s get you started with a few easy ideas you can finish in an hour or less to bring a lot of interest to a boring dresser.
Drawer front stencils
The first place to consider for a stencil pattern is the drawer front of your piece. Select a pattern that fits your bedroom décor – like a simple floral, scroll or teddy bears for a children’s room. Center your pattern form between the drawer handles and stencil each of your drawer fronts. This is an easy and quick embellishment to perk up your piece and tie it into the theme of your room.
Another way to embellish your drawer fronts is to remove the knobs or handles and stencil a design right in the middle of the holes used to mount your hardware. A cute flower head or blazing sun shape would be a perfect candidate for this stencil placement. When the paint has dried, replace the drawer hardware and your project is done.
Dresser top stencils
You can also stencil a pattern on the top of your dresser. Stenciling into the corners is the easiest and quickest method. A simple fleur-de-lis design would fit nicely into a dresser-top corner and could be done in a single paint color (or more, if desired). Or you can repeat a design as a border around the entire dresser top.
If you’re really ambitious and want to walk on the wild side, look for a multi-part stencil and create an intricate design or scene in the middle of your table top or to cover the majority of the surface.
If want to see a few good examples of stencil magic, check out my favorite site – Designer Stencils. This company carries an amazing number of stencils for very reasonable prices and they have a “how-to” section explaining the basics of stenciling for the beginner.
It’s that simple – a couple quick, well-placed stencil images will take your dresser from bland to beautiful in a heartbeat.
More home décor ideas for you from Terry Mulligan:
10 Tips to Take Your Next Decorating Project Over the Top
Loving Your Living Room in Three Days
Low Cost Home Decor is Just a Spray Can Away
