How to Makeover Old French Provincial Dresser

*This post contains affiliate links, all of the opinions are definitely 100% my own 😉

French Provincial Dresser Makeover with DIY Paint and Redoux

The French Provincial Dresser Before

You recognize this Dresser, right?  It was part of your bedroom set circa 1970s?

I was not lucky enough to have this Bedroom set as a kid, (I had beautiful furniture that my mom bought and refinished-where I got my inspiration).   But!  I have been lucky enough to find TONS of it for sale or even better, for FREE over the past 14 years that I have been painting furniture.

Here are a few of the pieces I have transformed over the years.  Several of them were FREE finds!

Examples of French Provincial Dresser Makeovers

Dressers Dressed in Glaze Snooty French Girls 

Dumped Dresser Don’t be a Stressor

How to Get the Layered Look With Glaze

This recent project came to me from a local consignment shop where I used to sell, (now out of business and I am happily and forever more at Rancho Coop, Oakley, CA, where I rent a space and sell DIY Paints and my Furniture Makeovers.  This Tall Boy Dresser sat in the storage hall for months.  I had such a HUGE crush on it.  These pieces with the fun skirty flare thing in the middle are hard to find!  Here’s one I did in Black and White way back in the day.

French Maid Dresser

Practically every time I was in the store, I begged the owner to sell the dresser to me, but she was bent on keeping it.  Finally, one day, I think she had tired of my pleading.  She agreed to sell me this piece.  I was so excited I think I started speaking in tongues in French.

How to Get a Unique Finish on a French Provincial Dresser

Once I got this piece home, the pressure was on me to do it justice.  I knew I couldn’t just do a one or two-layer paint job with DIY Paint.  I had to do something c’est extraordinaire.

I removed the hardware and stored it in a zip-lock bag.  If you are not doing this with furniture, I highly recommend you start now.  It keeps all the players in one spot, so a screw can’t literally get loose and cause you to lose one too while you hunt it down.

If you don’t have big Gallon zip lock Bags around, get some fast HERE:

I started with a thin coat of DIY 100% Natural Clay Paint in Mint Chip (DIY Paint is HANDS DOWN the most fun paint you will ever use, ever).   Next up was a thin layer of DIY Paint in Gypsy Green.  I was highly influenced by Dionne Woods of The Turquoise Iris.  She has this amazing way of painting with a squirt bottle of water and white vinegar.  If you haven’t checked her out, you should, NOW 🙂

Layering Paint for a French Provincial Dresser Makeover

With each layer, I spritzed on some water, then went over it with a thin coat of DIY Paint, then spritzed again to get the paint to “run”.  It creates a really beautiful, blended look.  You really can only achieve this look with DIY Paint because each color is highly pigmented, and the paint has no latex, no acrylic, and is the only paint on the market with a true Clay base.  It’s an expensive paint to make, so DIY Paint is the only one with this magic formula.  Plus, it has an incredibly hard finish and bonds to absolutely anything you paint it on.

For my final coat, I created a “wash” basically 3 parts water and 1 part DIY Paint in Prom Queen.  I also used the Spray Bottle spritz method.  When dry, I sanded the entire piece with 320 grit sandpaper, then 400 for a China smooth Finish.

I have Amazon Prime and I don’t have to make special trips to the store to get Specialized Sandpaper.  Plus, it’s often hard to find High Grit Sand Paper in bigger packs:

How to Add Finishing Touches on a French Provincial Dresser Makeover

For the fun trim on this piece, I dry brushed on DIY Paints Gold Patina. 

This is such an amazing product, they literally cannot keep it in stock. You can definitely stock up on it here.

I sealed the entire piece with DIY Paint’s 100% Clear Wax.

This project was one of those pieces that I stared at it for wayyyyyy too long.

At my heart, I still love French Provincial Style.  I never get tired of making over old French Provincial Dressers.  In fact….I have a Free French Provincial Dresser in my garage waiting for my next coat of DIY Paint!

PS This piece sold within 1 hour of me posting it for sale at my shop.  That’s a French Provincial record.