She Painted Lilacs and Forsythia Across This Old Maple Dresser Instead of Using One Color
Warm brown wood covered this vintage maple dresser from the drawer fronts to the sides, with dark traditional pulls breaking up its nine-drawer front. Its solid construction stayed, but the finish was about to change.
Kate from Heir and Space refinished the dresser for a client who wanted a deep bottle-green base with her favorite flowers worked into the design. Purple lilacs and yellow forsythia became two loose arrangements rising from opposite sides rather than a repeated motif placed on each drawer.
Instead of treating nine drawer fronts as separate surfaces, the floral stems cross their edges and continue from one level to another. Original wood remains across the top, creating a second finish above the green case and painted flowers.
Brown Maple Gave the Dresser Its Starting Point
Solid rock maple gave the dresser a traditional look before the makeover. Raised drawer fronts, a shaped apron, and molding around the top and base were already part of the case, so changing the furniture did not require altering its construction.
Brown finish made those details blend into one wood tone. Dark ornate pulls added another traditional element that would disappear when the dresser received new paint and hardware.
Bottle Green Replaced the Brown Finish
Deep bottle green covers the case and drawer fronts while the original wood remains exposed across the top. Keeping that broad wood surface breaks up the painted finish and preserves part of the dresser’s former appearance.
Thin distressed areas around drawer edges expose warmer tones beneath the green. Dark wax settles into molding and recessed areas, giving the new color more depth without hiding the shape of the drawer fronts.
Lilacs Rise Across Several Drawers
Purple lilacs begin near the lower edge and climb across separate drawers rather than staying inside their raised borders. Brown stems pass through the green background, with green leaves filling gaps between the blossoms.
Drawer divisions remain visible through the composition. Opening one drawer would separate part of a flower or stem from the rest, but closing it reconnects the design across the dresser front.
Yellow Forsythia Breaks Up the Purple Flowers
Yellow forsythia introduces a second flower instead of repeating lilacs across both sides. Small blossoms follow thin branching stems, creating a different shape from the dense purple flower clusters.
Green paint provides enough contrast for both colors to stand out, while the loose placement leaves large sections of the dresser undecorated. The result reads as two growing arrangements rather than an all-over floral pattern.
New Hardware Sits Inside the Painted Design
Curved metal pulls replaced the dark traditional handles on the wider drawers, while round knobs went onto the smaller ones. Several stems and flowers pass behind or beside the hardware instead of stopping before each pull.
That overlap helps connect the artwork across the dresser. Drawer fronts still function as separate pieces, but the flowers make the entire face read as one surface when everything is closed.
Wood Was Left Exposed Across the Top
Green paint stops below the dresser top, leaving its warm maple tone visible above the floral case. That strip of wood connects the finished piece back to the brown dresser it started as without competing with the flowers below.
From the side, the contrast becomes stronger: plain green covers the case, natural wood caps it, and the floral artwork remains concentrated across the front.
Lilacs and Forsythia Turned the Drawers Into One Canvas
Finished dresser keeps the same drawer arrangement, raised panels, molding, and shaped base seen before the makeover. Bottle green changes the background, while lilacs and forsythia move across boundaries that once divided the front into nine separate sections.
Purple, yellow, and green now carry the eye from the bottom corners toward the upper drawers, while the exposed wood top keeps one large part of the original maple visible.
Floral artwork doesn’t have to stop at drawer edges. Another old cabinet used giant painted poppies that crossed doors, trim, and a bottom drawer to create one continuous composition. Would you let a floral design travel across an entire piece of furniture, or keep each flower contained within one drawer or panel?