Instead of Painting This Dresser One Color, She Used Eight From Top to Bottom
Painting a dresser with this many drawer sizes can make the front look even more disjointed, especially when narrow, wide, and square drawers compete for attention. Homedit contributor Brittney Smart used that irregular layout as the basis for the paint scheme instead of trying to hide it.
Eight colors move from orange and coral at the top through yellow, green, turquoise, and blue before reaching deep navy at the base. White paint stays on the surrounding frame, separating the colors and turning each drawer into its own block within the larger composition.
Mixed Drawer Sizes Give Each Color Its Own Section
Before paint, the dresser shows why the eight-color approach works. Two narrow drawers and one square drawer occupy the top, broad drawers fill the center, another group of small drawers breaks up the lower section, and two wide drawers finish the base. Each front becomes a separate place for color without changing the dresser construction.
Sanding Prepares the Wood for a Painted Finish
Brittney sanded the wood before moving to paint, including the top and exposed parts of the dresser frame. The unfinished pine has visible grain and knots, but the goal here was a smooth painted surface rather than preserving the raw wood finish.
Wood Filler Covers Gaps Before Paint Goes On
Wood filler was pressed into small gaps and imperfections along the dresser construction. Once those areas dried and were sanded, the seams were less likely to stand out beneath the white finish.
White Paint Separates Every Drawer
Instead of carrying the drawer colors onto the cabinet, Brittney painted the dresser frame white. The image shows the roller covering an exposed frame section while the drawer cavity remains unpainted inside.
That decision becomes a major part of the finished design. Narrow white rails run between the colors and outline drawers that vary in width, height, and position.
Eight Paint Colors Move From Orange to Navy
Eight open paint cans show the full palette before it reaches the dresser: Starburst Orange, Hydrangea Flowers, Melon Popsicle, Fresh Air, Acadia Green, Bahaman Sea Blue, Blue Lapis, and Symphony Blue.
The colors do not repeat across the dresser. Each shade occupies its own level or drawer group, with warm tones reserved for the top and the deepest blue placed at the bottom.
Paint Wraps Around the Drawer Front Edges
Brittney did not stop the color at the face of each drawer. Paint continues over the exposed edges, preventing strips of raw wood from appearing when the finished drawers are viewed from an angle.
Flat Drawer Faces Keep the Color Blocks Clean
With no raised panels, molding, or carved details on the drawer fronts, each shade covers one broad uninterrupted surface. Hydrangea Flowers shown here creates a solid coral block, while the white frame remains separate from the painted face.
Drawers Are Painted Before Going Back Into the Frame
Removing the drawers makes it possible to work on several colors at once. Blue, turquoise, coral, and other painted fronts can be seen drying across the garage while the white dresser frame remains in the background.
Brittney gave the drawer faces two or three coats, building an opaque finish over the wood rather than leaving the grain as part of the color treatment.
Warm Colors Take Over the Upper Drawers
Once assembled, the upper section shows how the palette follows the drawer arrangement. Strong orange fills the two long drawers, coral marks the square drawer beside them, and yellow occupies the first broad drawer below.
Brushed metal pulls repeat across all three colors, providing one consistent detail despite the changes in drawer dimensions.
Handles Are Attached Through the Painted Fronts
Hardware installation comes after the painted drawer fronts are finished. The metal pulls are screwed through the wood rather than painted to match each section, leaving the same metallic accent against orange, yellow, green, turquoise, and blue.
Blue Drawers Anchor the Bottom of the Dresser
Blue Lapis and Symphony Blue occupy the two broad drawers closest to the floor. The contrast between these adjacent shades is clear: one reads as a softer medium blue, while the bottom drawer reaches a much deeper navy.
White rails between them prevent the two blues from blending into one large dark section.
Smaller Drawers Break Up the Middle of the Color Sequence
Pale green and turquoise appear where the dresser layout shifts back to smaller drawers. Acadia Green fills the square drawer on the left, while Bahaman Sea Blue covers the two narrow drawers beside it.
This section interrupts the broad horizontal bands above and below, using the existing drawer configuration to change the shape of the color blocks.
Metal Legs Lift the Darkest Color Off the Floor
Short metal legs raise the dresser above the carpet and leave a small gap beneath the navy bottom drawer. Their finish also matches the drawer pulls, carrying the same metal detail from the base to the top of the piece.
Eight Colors Read as One Vertical Sequence
From the low angle, the full progression becomes clear. Orange and coral occupy the top, yellow moves into pale green, turquoise marks the smaller center drawers, and blue deepens toward navy at the base.
Keeping the outer frame white gives every shade a defined boundary, which matters most where differently sized drawers sit beside each other.
Paint Makes the Original Drawer Layout Stand Out
The side-by-side view shows that the dresser’s unusual arrangement was already present before paint. What changes is how easy those different drawer shapes are to see.
Eight colors turn the existing layout into the main design feature. Instead of making the mismatched drawer sizes disappear under one finish, Brittney used each front as a separate color block and let the sequence run from orange at the top to navy at the bottom.
For those who are looking to build a dresser like this, here is the complete tutorial.