Coral Ombre Dresser DIY

How to Create an Ombre Dresser in Guava By Benjamin Moore

Who is ready to see how to transform a funky old dresser using various tints of a coral ombre?
I thought I would share a painted furniture technique that I have tried many times in the past. You will see how I created a custom ombre look on a vintage dresser.  Over the years, I have resurfaced several pieces of vintage furniture. This was one of my favorite projects to date. For the ombre effect, I like using color families of blue, gray or coral. For this project, my customer in Louisiana chose the the color Guava by Benjamin Moore.

Here is how the dresser looked before in green. It was super funky (yet charming?) but needed and update for the space. I look for sturdy wooden pieces without a lot of wear and tear, that are preferably light-weight for shipping.

Ombre Refinishing Supplies

For this project you will need: 

• small mouse sander or orbital sander, both of these tools are essential time-savers when refinishing a piece of furniture
• foam cabinet roller and tray set
• knobs of your choice: simple silver knobs or fancy hammered knobs
• paint and primer of your choice: I used Guava by Benjamin Moore  

Ready, Set, Sand!

Follow these 6 steps to refinish your Dresser

1. Sanding: Sanding and removing extra paint, dents and scratches. I sand to remove any imperfections in the wood by starting with 120 medium grit sandpaper. Next, I fill-in dents with a wood filler before I prime the old surface. 
2.  Repairs: I had to repair the bottom of a damaged drawer by having new piece of masonite cut to fit and securing it with wood glue and my hand stapler.
3. Priming: I prime the dresser using white primer to cover the original green shade. I use a smooth 4" foam cabinet roller for priming and painting. 
​4. Color Mixing: Now, I am ready to mix the paint. I begin by painting the bottom drawer with the original (darkest shade). We chose Guava by BM in semi-gloss for the darkest shade. I use semi-gloss for almost all of my painted furniture pieces because it resists scratches and wipes down easily. 
5. Color Mixing/Painting: You can see the colors lightest to darkest (at right). I hand-mix the peachy colors and by adding white paint. I always store excess paint for touch-ups later. I have painted several other ombre pieces and I always find color matching at a later time can be difficult. 

Last but not least, you will want to install the hardware. You will want to choose knobs that accent your space and add to the piece. For mine, I used small silver mercury glass knobs that I found on sale at Anthropologie. 

Here you can see the final look below! Later, I was commissioned to use this exact ombre scheme on a custom desk for a client. 

To my joy and surprise, a design publication based in Germany included this piece in it's editorial.

I hope you all have enjoyed hearing about how to paint an ombre dresser using interior paint! If you'd like to see more ombre, then be sure to check out this Ocean Ombre Nightstand in Blue Lagoon, and request to join my Group Board, Hooray for Ombre! 

While we are on the topic of furniture, I am currently loving this chic painted DIY nightstand video that I enjoyed by Orlando Soria and Emily Henderson. Would love to try this one out. 

​How about you? Any plans to update furniture pieces soon? Please share!