How to Update a Dresser with a Missing Drawer

Hey friends, happy March! Even though I know we still have quite a bit of cold weather coming our way here in Colorado, it’s exciting to see these warmer days sprinkled in here and there.

This week I am sharing how I saved an old IKEA dresser from ending up at the landfill!

Supplies Used:(Affiliate links may be provided for convenience. For more info, see my full disclosure here.)

I found this dresser listed for free, and I am assuming that the previous owners were ready to throw it away since it was missing a drawer.

I had an idea that I was hoping would work, so we went ahead and snagged it!

I started removing the drawer tracks from both of the top drawer slots since those would not be needed.

I then gave it a good deep clean, and scuffed sanded the entire surface with 120 grit to prep it for primer.

I decided that the bottom drawers needed some texture, so I cut down some paint sticks to the correct length and then applied them using wood glue and the nail gun.

I used a cut up garbage bag to tape off the top drawers to protect them from overspray, and then applied a coat of primer.

I failed to capture me applying the paint, but imagine me applying three coats of a nice neutral colored paint! I believe the color I used was Creamy Mushroom by Behr.

Once the paint was done, Anthony helped me cut down a project board to create a shelf for each side. I didn’t get a better picture at the time, but hopefully this blurry screenshot from my Instagram story gives you an idea of how we secured them! Essentially, we marked where the shelf needed to sit and then attached corner braces to those spots. We then added the shelf in and a secured it.