10 Favorite Painted Dressers: Looks to Inspire

I'm looking for inspiration for the dresser I bought off Craigslist back in January for our master bedroom makeover. It's been sitting in my garage and this past weekend I rolled it out and started prepping it for paint. Here's what it looks like right now before doing anything to it (minus a couple of the handles that I had already started removing):

The dresser was refinished at some point, and poorly at that. There are heavy drip marks, the stain is unevenly applied, and even the sheen of the topcoat is applied unevenly. I'm pretty sure someone was drinking heavily when they refinished this piece. There are also chips and dings and a missing piece towards the back on the top that I'll be repairing. I appreciate wood furniture, I really do, but this piece is getting painted. Debate all you want about how painting a vintage piece borders on the sacrilegious, but I think if it's a wood that doesn't necessarily look good, and you like painted furniture, and it's in YOUR house, you should do what you want with it. There are some pieces that I think should keep its beautiful wood finish and be properly restored, but this isn't one of them. Sometimes a paint job is the kind way to make a piece of furniture that might be destined for the landfill serve its function for a good while longer.

I've been looking for dresser inspiration for a couple months now, and here's my round-up of 10 painted dressers that are among my favorites I've seen around the web. They're not all DIY dressers, but they could be with a little imagination:

10 Favorite Painted Dressers: Looks to Inspire

This turquoise color and finish is stunning. It's bold but still looks so elegant in its surroundings. I love everything about this piece AND this space:

from Classic Casual Home

This platinum paint finish is so chic. It's from Z Gallerie but with all the available paint now, this kind of look could be achieved:

From Z Gallerie

Two tone dresser with wood and white. I remember seeing this last summer when Kate at Centsational Girl posted this and thinking how smart and modern it looked. I don't really like the wood grain on my dresser drawers enough to keep it a wood tone though, but I love the idea of it. Rick likes this one too:

From Centsational Girl

Okay, I LOVE this two-tone white and black dresser. It is so stylish:

From Tobi Fairley Interior Design

I like the aqua color with the glazing on this dresser:

from Sur Vintage Market

Black damask painted dresser. So dramatic!

From Joss and Main

This next one is so bright and bold. Normally we might assume this would go in a little girl's room, but I think with the right design, you could make this work in an adult space. This would look so great against the gray walls in our bedroom. I am so drawn to this color! Rick, on the other hand, may not be:

From Stiltskin Studios

I could go classic with black paint or a super dark stain like my bloggy friend Nancy did with this piece (she transforms all sorts of pieces over at her blog Artsy Chicks Rule, go visit her!) This is always a sophisticated look:

From Artsy Chicks Rule

White is always a classic beautiful choice too, and so fresh, like this dresser:

From Ballard Designs

But look at this colorful one using chalk paint. Love the fuschia cherry blossoms. What a great color combination! Ohhhhh!!

From Stiltskin Studios' Etsy Shop

So many great choices! Now I've got to make a decision on the color and get paint for my own dresser. Which one do you like the best? I know which one (or two) I'm leaning toward. Can you guess? :)

Update: The dresser is done! Come and check it out here. I like it!