Reuse an Old Dresser without Drawers as Beach Storage

An old dresser without drawers can be saved and reused as a functional and beautiful piece for storage!

By adding baskets and other decorative containers, a dresser without drawers can still be useful and pretty and thus saved from the landfill! In this case, I used stencils to make a custom piece that stores all of our swimming gear at our lake-house cottage.

Whenever I see a dresser without drawers, a sense of hoarder guilt floods over me. How could I spend money, or even use up precious garage space, for a dresser that is missing pieces?!  Thankfully, I didn’t need to wrestle with that guilt in someone else’s driveway this time, because my dad simply dropped this old, draw-less dresser off in my garage for me.

 (I appreciate him sourcing my furniture refinishing habit, but I have told him that if he brings me something that I don’t want, he is responsible for getting rid of it for me and he may no longer just put things in my garage.)

ideas for old dresser without drawers before image of refinished dresser

I wasn’t sure how I was going to use it and it sat in my garage for over a year. Then one day it hit me – I could use this dresser as storage for beach supplies at our cottage in Wisconsin!

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Painting the Dresser

On this piece, I chose to use one of my favorite paints for furniture: General Finishes Milk Paint. It’s an acrylic paint that I put into the “All-in-One Paint” category. You rarely need to prime and it doesn’t necessarily need to be top-coated.

I have a full post on all different choices for types of furniture paint if you’re still deciding what type of paint you’d like to use on your project.

To paint a dresser without drawers, you will need to paint the outside, as normal, but it’s also important to paint the inside of the dresser to give it a finished look. On this piece, I chose paint the entire piece in one color, but it also looks nice to paint the inside of the dresser with a second color as an accent.

how to refinish a dresser without drawers by painting the inside of the drawer boxes

Sometimes, the interior of dressers are made of mdf, plywood, or other materials that can be difficult to paint over. If you run into this, just be sure to prime the interior of your piece before painting.

In most cases, a basic primer like Zinsser 1, 2, 3 works well, but if you are noticing any coloring bleeding through the primer, you may need a stain blocking primer like a shellac-based primer or other stain-blocking primer. You can read all about these types of primers and when to use them in this post on when to prime furniture.

blankFor this dresser, I used General Finishes Milk Paint in Driftwood Gray.  It took two coats of paint. I also painted the inside of the drawer compartments. It’s pretty simple to paint the inside of shelves by brushing in the corners and edges, and then rolling the bases and sides.

Stenciling Words on a Dresser

To make the graphic design on the drawer fronts that remained on this dresser, I created a custom stencil using my Silhouette.

If you don’t have a cutting machine, it would be worth asking friends or family if they could help you out. I often cut out designs for others and just ask them to supply the vinyl for the project. Or, many Etsy sellers will create custom stencils for you as well.

How to stencil words on a dresser with subway art lettering and graphics

Whenever I stencil anything on to furniture, my goal is to get the cleanest lines as possible. You’ll see the trick I use to stencil in the steps below, but if you want to read a full tutorial on why and how it works, this post will give you all the details: how to stencil furniture with perfect lines.

  1. After the stencil has been cut, lay a piece of transfer paper over the stencil. Line up the stencil on the surface and press down to adhere the stencil to the drawer front.
  2. Peel off the layer of transfer paper, leaving the stencil in place on the drawer.
  3. Use a clear acrylic topcoat and lightly paint in the letters. Allow to dry.
  4. Paint over the letters in the color of your choice and remove the stencil.
add custom lettering to a dresser to create a dresser perfect for a beach house or lake house

I purposely didn’t paint into every section with the sponge so that it looked a little weathered. But, look at how crisp those edges are on that lettering!

How to Make Rope Handles for Furniture

Making handles out of rope is a budget-friendly way to update a piece of furniture without needing to purchase new hardware. Rope handles are perfect for creating a beach or tropical look or they can also be used for a rustic feel. I’ve found that 1/4″ thick manila rope is the perfect thickness and strength for rope handles, but it also isn’t too thick for knot tying.

How to make rope handles on a piece of furniture

To make rope handles for furniture:

  1. Tie a square knot on the backside of the drawer front and pull the rope through the front.
  2. Tie another square knot on the front side of the drawer.
  3. Thread the rope through the other hole and gauge how long you want the handle to be. Mark that spot with a permanent marker.
  4. Pull the rope out of that second hole and tie a square knot at the spot where you placed the mark.
  5. Thread the rope through the second hole again, and it will stop at the place where you tied the knot.
  6. Tie one last knot at the back of the drawer. Cut off excess rope.
  7. (Optional) Add a dab of glue to the knots on the insides of the drawers, especially if they don’t want to remain tightly tied.

Although I wouldn’t use rope handles for most pieces of furniture, I think it works perfectly on this beach house dresser. Update: We’ve been using this dresser for almost 10 years and the rope handles are holding up perfectly. Even the knots are staying tightly tied without the need for glue!

Reveal: Beach Storage Dresser without Drawers

refinished dresser from an old dresser without drawers reused to make swim or beach storage at a lake house or beach house

Now we have the perfect storage area for all of the beach stuff at our little lake house.  The towels, water rings, inner tubes, beach coolers, and swimsuits used to sit in plastic totes on the floor, but now they are neatly stored away in this one of a kind dresser.  I think it’s actually one of my favorite pieces for our cottage, and it totally made me start itching for nice weather and trips to the beach!

refinished dresser from an old dresser without drawers reused to make swim or beach storage at a lake house or beach house

I decorated this room with a vintage camp theme, so when a woman at a garage sale wanted $1 for that adorable metal tackle box, I tried my best to keep from squealing with delight.

ideas for beach house furniture or lake house furniture to store swimming and beach supplies

What do you think?  Wasn’t this old dresser without drawers worth keeping? Of course, it doesn’t only need to be used for swimming gear storage. Think of all the different ways you could use if for storage without your home!

refinished dresser from an old dresser without drawers reused to make swim or beach storage at a lake house or beach house

You can see all of our progress on our little lake house cottage here:

Welcome to our Cottage!
Welcome to our Cottage!

Or, check out all of my furniture refinishing tutorials and projects here!

Jenny at Refresh Living (dev.refreshliving.com)

Post by Jenny Leads

Jenny is the voice behind Refresh Living. She has a passion for helping people to create a home they love without spending a lot of money.

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36 Comments

    1. I’m so glad you like it, Amy! As I was painting it, I thought about your nautical dresser a few times – it definitely has some similarities!

  1. Wow, I did not know you lived near the lake, I love everything about the dresser, the color, the stenciling, its perfect for a cottage vibe and for the towels. Great job Maria

  2. This dresser re-do is a great idea, and yours turned out beautiful! Perfect for beach towels… 🙂

  3. I would use the dark green milk paint on dresser that was given to me a long time ago. I was my husbands uncles wedding present back in the late 50s 🙂

    1. I love refinishing from my family members – it makes it even more special to give it a new look. That green is one of my favorite colors! Good luck!

  4. I visited the paint website,its a really nice paint company! I love the chalk colors that they have, if i win I will surely be motivated to paint one of my old furniture pieces in my attic.
    Maria

  5. I am a huge fan of subway art & just love this! I just bought a Cricut Explore Air and am still learning. I would love to create subway art. I picked up transfer tape and vinyl. You inspired me!

  6. Super nice!! Love anything that is older than me!!! And to refurbish so as to bring life back to it is so inspirational!! I would refinish just about anything in the Key West Blue, chalk paint! My daughter, married to a Norwegian, leans towards the Scandinavian colors, of course!

  7. Thanks so much for the chance to win Jenny! I’ve never used GF products before so it was exciting to learn about them more. I love the linen color. Ive pinned and will share on FB and IG too. Hugs, CoCo

    1. Thanks Wendi! You are so right about all the DIY projects!! Even when I think the list is getting smaller, I think of new ideas. Which of course makes me only more excited!

  8. I’m thinking I need the Stillwater bl Blue chalk paint to refinish an old headboard and night stand for our master bedroom.

    1. Thanks for stopping by to visit!! I have yet to try their pearl effects paint, but I agree, it’s something I would love to try out.

  9. Jenny, this dresser is so awesome!! I love the color, the stencils, and the pulls!! This is a great save!! Can’t wait to see the room reveal!! Thanks for linking up to Sweet Inspiration!

  10. I absolutely love this project, not only for beach storage but how about in a lake house. Right by the back door that leads to the lake, keep all essentials in one easy to grab spot. Love it!

    1. Hi Aga! It honestly looks as good as new. No chipping or wear at all! I used General Finishes Milk Paint (which really isn’t milk paint at all, but an acrylic paint) and it always gives a really nice finish. I also used it on a dresser in our nursery (which also serves as the changing table), and it’s holding up perfectly too. I highly recommend this paint!