Take a dresser or chest from drab to beautiful with these DIY dresser & chest makeover ideas with a coastal, beach & nautical theme.
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This ombre painted chest in teal graces the living room at KERF. The ombre look works great on a drawer piece like a chest or dresser, as well as on Stairs.
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Beautiful DIY blue painted dresser with decoupaged drawers, using an ocean image by Confessions of a Serial DIYer.
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Bold Nautical Dresser makeover with painted blue and white stripes.
If you are an artist like Worn by Whimsy, use a dresser as your canvas to paint a beautiful beach scene. Or you could always hire a local artist to do it for you.
The drawer design of this dresser provided a great opportunity to add coastal and nautical theme stencil designs. Seen on Facebook.
Coastal nautical dresser makeover idea from a Seabrook WA Home.
Nautical dresser makeover with a Nautical Ship Blue Print by Atta Girl Says.
A seaglass mosaic was created for this dresser by Little Crown Interiors. Featured here.
Masterfully done nautical dresser makeover with Map Decoupage.
Clever nautical dresser makeover idea with Navigational Map adhered to the drawer fronts only. This is so doable, and you can glue on any printed paper! Source no longer available.
These are all awesome ideas how you can give a dresser or chest a fresh new look with a distinct coastal vibe, turning your furniture piece into a customized treasure. Let's start with an overview.
Dresser & Chest Makeover Ideas:
Paint & Finish Ideas:
Paint the entire furniture piece in a Coastal Color that you love. You can create an ombre effect with colors that transition from a deep ocean blue at the bottom to a light, sandy beige at the top, for example. For a relaxed, beachy vibe, consider a distressed or weathered finish. Sand the edges and corners lightly to create a worn look that mimics the natural weathering of coastal furniture. And if you are artistically inclined you could paint the ocean or even a scenic beach scene on the front of your dresser or chest.
Beachy Stencils:
Use stencils to add coastal motifs like starfish, seashells, or waves. You can paint these designs on the drawer fronts or on the top the dresser.
Coastal & Nautical Hardware:
Swap out the existing knobs and pulls for coastal and nautical-themed hardware.
Rope Details:
Incorporate rope into the design of your dresser or chest makeover. You can use rope for drawer fronts or as decorative accents on the dresser. Rope drawer pulls are popular, for example.
Ocean-Inspired Decoupage:
Apply coastal-themed paper or fabric to the drawer fronts or top of the dresser or chest using decoupage techniques. Or cover the entire dresser with a navigation map! You will see an example of that.
Beach Sign Decals:
Add beach-themed decals or vinyl cutouts with a word or saying for a personalized touch.
Shell Embellishments:
Glue shells onto your piece in a way that is visually attractive, or dive into the art of coquillage and cover your entire dresser or chest with shells.
Misc Decorative Embellishments:
Glue seaglass onto your piece for a decorative touch or think about wood cutouts (of sea life for example) that you can paint and attach to drawer fronts. Attach pieces of driftwood to the dresser as decorative elements. Driftwood sticks can be used as drawer pulls also.
Image: Paint Me White
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A creative blue painted dresser by Semigloss Design.
Got boxes full of small shells? This shell decorated dresser is featured on The Art of Coquillage where you can view many more decorations and furnishings that are beautifully covered in shells.
