Ombre Paint a Dresser

Furniture painting trends abound on the internet, ranging from chalkboard paint to the ever-popular ombre paint job. Ombre painting describes a painting technique in which a color is applied in a gradient, either ranging top to bottom or left to right. To successfully ombre paint your own dresser, you will need to create a gradient, prep your dresser, and either paint by hand or use spray paint.

Steps

Creating a Gradient

1. Decide upon a horizontal or vertical ombre effect. Ombre painting simply means painting in a gradient, employing different shades of the same color to create the effect of fading. Before painting your dresser, decide if you want to create an ombre effect from top to bottom or from left to right.
   • If your dresser has drawers stacked vertically, you can paint each drawer face a different color. This will make top-to-bottom ombre much easier.
2. Choose the direction and severity of your gradient. When painting, decide whether you’d like to start with a lighter color and gradually move to a darker shade, or start with dark and move to light. You can use paint swatches to play around with direction before beginning.
   • If you choose a vertical gradient and only paint your drawer faces instead of the entire dresser, you can mix and match light to dark and dark to light as the mood strikes you by switching the drawers around.
3. Choose a background color. You can either paint the entire dresser ombre, or you can choose a solid background color and paint the dresser drawers different shades. Although the choice is yours, the gradient will be cleaner if you paint different shades on drawers alone and having a single background color, such as white or gray.
   • Although using a single background color is the most popular way to paint a dresser, you can mix paint colors to create a gradual color shift in the background, then have a more dramatic ombre effect using the drawers.
4. Purchase your paint shades. Once you have decided on your preferred color and direction, purchase different shades of a single color of paint to correspond to your dresser. If you have five drawers, purchase five colors, etc.
   • You could also create a few different shades by purchasing your preferred color and white and mixing the two in different ratios.

Setting Up a Paint Station

1. Lay down a drop cloth. Painting with both a brush and spray can is a messy affair, so lay drop cloths down wherever you decide to paint. Even if you are painting in your backyard, you’ll want to have a piece of fabric to catch any stray paint droplets.
   • If you opt for spray paint, you may also want to place drop cloths upright behind the dresser, or stand cardboard behind the surface.
2. Remove all hardware. Most dresser drawers have at least one drawer pull, so be sure you remove all of these before you paint. Although you could paint around the pulls, you run the risk of spilling paint on them and ruining them. Removing the pulls will also help you get an even coat over the entire surface of the drawer or cabinet.
   • This would be an excellent time to paint your drawer pulls if you’d like to alter them to better match your ombre colors.
3. Sand the painting area. Even if your dresser has not been stained or painted previously, sand the area you are planning to paint. Paint cannot adhere to slick, smooth surfaces, so sanding will help toughen the surface a bit to help paint stick.
   • If the surface of the dresser has not been painted or stained, this need not be a long process. Instead of using an electric sander, run a single piece of sandpaper over the dresser’s surface by hand once or twice.
4. Wipe down after sanding to remove dust. Sanding leaves behind a lot of residue, so be sure to thoroughly wipe the entire dresser down, including inside the drawers. Sawdust is infamous for getting caught in unwanted spaces and could easily make the paint clump as you go, resulting in an uneven finish.
   • A damp cloth is enough to wipe everything down.

Painting With a Brush

1. Apply the first coat of the first color. Using long, consistent strokes, apply the first coat of paint. Allow the paint to dry before moving on to a second or third coat of paint. The more layers you paint, the darker your shade will be, so keep this in mind before you paint multiple coats.
   • If you are painting the base white, you can begin there and move on to mixing colors next.
2. Finish one color entirely before moving on to the next. To preserve the amount of brushes you need to use, finish with a single paint color before moving on to the next. Although this will require more time to complete, you will save money on brushes and will avoid having to go back over any areas after you’ve finished.
   • This technique is particularly wise if you choose to mix white and one other color, as you could easily mix up your color shades.
   • Make sure you wash and dry your brushes thoroughly between colors to prevent running and splotchy color.
3. Sand any rough edges or paint splatters. If your brush dripped and you weren’t able to wipe the drip away quickly enough, or you didn’t see a drip until you’d finished, now is the time to sand down those areas and any still-rough areas or edges of the wood.
   • Make sure the paint has dried completely before you sand.
   • Using a damp cloth, wipe the sanded area down again, touching up any areas rendered uneven by the sandpaper.
4. Seal the painted areas. Once you have completely finished painting, seal your paint job with a brush-applied sealant. There are some sealants specifically designed for furniture, if you’d like, but if your dresser will not be coming into contact with young children or animals, a simple coat of polyurethane will do.
   • Sealing will help prevent fading, scratching, and scuffing, and will help your colors last longer.

Using Spray Paint

1. Spray your first color, keeping the can at least six inches from the surface. Spray paint is much thinner than paint you’d find inside of a tin, so holding the spray can closer could result in a blotchy, unattractive coat of paint. It could also make your paint drip.
   • As you paint, move your hand smoothly from side to side.
2. Allow each coat to dry before applying another coat. Although spray paint typically dries faster than canned paint, you should still wait between coats to make sure each coat has completely dried. This will keep your color consistent and even, and will prevent the spotting effect frequently seen when using spray paint.
   • Provided you are in a clean area, you can enlist the help of a fan to speed the drying process.
3. Sand and wipe down any bumps. As with canned paint, you must sand and wipe down any areas of the dresser with more heavily concentrated paint and wipe away the residue left behind. Thick drips are far less common with spray paint, but higher concentrations of paint (usually in a circular pattern) are common.
   • After you sand, you might need to go back over the area.
4. Continue moving through your paint colors. Unlike canned paint, you can move from one color to the next while you wait for colors to dry, as you will not need to share containers or brushes. Because spray paint dries faster than standard paint, you may be able to move through the painting process more quickly.
   • If you move back and forth between spray paint colors, make sure you paint on a different part of the drop cloth to avoid accidentally spraying the wrong color on your drawers.
5. Finish with a spray seal, such as polyurethane. To keep the consistency of your paint, use a spray sealant rather than a tin of sealant. Many spray sealants are quite thick in texture, so a single coat of the sealant should do.

Tips

• If you have never painted furniture before, practice on the inside of the drawers or the backside of the dresser first.
• Choose classic colors to avoid having your dresser go out of style.

Warnings

• Always paint in a well-ventilated area and wear a mask if you will be painting for prolonged periods.
• Pay attention to your color as you go to avoid paint splatters or uneven shading.

Sources and Citations

See also

• Paint a Fabric Chair
• Paint Laminate Furniture
• Remove Shellac
• Wax Furniture
• Paint Wooden Furniture
• Paint a Metal Bed Frame
• Spray Lacquer
• Stain Wooden Furniture
• Refinish Metal Patio Furniture
• Oil Teak Furniture

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