Two-Toned Painted Dresser with Natural Wood Top

Add color to a piece of furniture while still retaining some of the natural wood beauty! This dresser combines a two-toned finish in white and light blue with a natural wood top.

This antique oak dresser was actually pretty gorgeous when I found it. I wanted to retain some of the beautiful oak finish but also lighten it up.

Although a white dresser with a natural wood top is a classic look, I wanted to bring it a bit more color as well.

I refinished this dresser over 10 years ago. Truth be told, I would probably not paint as much of it (or maybe even none it), if I refinished today. I’m glad I kept the gorgeous oak on the top showing, but I wish I had kept the wood drawers as well without painting over them.

Steps to Refinish a Two-Toned Dresser

1. Remove the original finish from the top

To remove the finish from the top of the dresser, I used furniture stripper. This removes the finish and makes it much easier to sand down. Here’s a full post on how to strip wood furniture with the specific steps.

2. Add clear topcoat to dresser top

After removing the exiting finish and sanding down to raw wood, it’s important to use a protective topcoat to seal the wood.

I usually prefer to use an oil-based polyurethane or topcoat because I love the way it penetrates the wood and adds a richness to the color of the wood. (This is the topcoat I used on this dresser.)

However, if you’re looking for a topcoat that does not darken the wood, a water-based polyurethane will provide a protective layer as well.

3. Paint the dresser base

I painted the base of the dresser with white chalk paint. When using chalk paint, you can paint right over the existing finish. I always choose to lightly scuff sand with 220 grit sandpaper, but you really don’t need to.

After completing this side by side test of 13 different chalk paints, I can confirm you really don’t need to sand because all of them adhered very well. (They did perform differently in other ways, though, and I do have a few favorite brands of chalk paint from this test!)

Because I used chalk paint, I decided to brush the entire piece. (Chalk paint looks the best when brushed rather than rolled or sprayed. Here’s a full post on how to chalk paint furniture.)

I needed to apply three coats of white to the base of the dresser due to the fact that I was covering up a darker wood color.

4. Paint the dresser drawers

When brushing or rolling furniture, I remove the drawers for painting. I brushed on two coats of the light blue color on the drawers. At first, the paint almost appeared white, but when it’s set next to the white base, the contrast between the colors is much more noticeable.

5. Add a protective topcoat

I used a water-based clear polyurethane topcoat to finish the painted surfaces. Water-based poly (also sometimes labeled as clear acrylic topcoat) will not yellow over time as oil-based polyurethane does.

When applying topcoat over painted surfaces, I always use a water-based top coat to avoid yellowing.

6. Install drawer pulls and hardware

Thankfully, the original handles from this piece were intact. Rather than polishing them up, I decided to keep the darker patina of the handles.

If you have brass hardware, here’s an easy way to test if they’re brass and then clean them to get them shiny again!

I love the slight contrast between the drawers and the body of the dresser; it’s subtle but also adds an extra element of interest.

I LOVE refinishing furniture!  You can see all my tutorials on how to refinish furniture here.