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Fresh ideas for dressers

Sometimes one of the best ways to give new life to a piece of furniture is to take it out of whatever room it usually lives in and try to look at it with fresh eyes. Does it offer display surface? Storage? Design or style elements you like? A favourite colour? Why do you like it?

Once you figure out what appeals to you most about a piece, you can start thinking about different ways to use it. If you love the colour, think of the rest of your home. Would it match somewhere else? Be a great accent colour? If it offers storage, where do you need it? If you love the style of a piece, but have it hiding in a spare room, why? Pull it out and find a way to use it in a room you spend time in every day. If you love the style but not the colour, give it a fresh look with a coat of paint or some stencilling.

I am determined to do this with dressers in my home. I grew up with one dresser in each bedroom, holding folded clothing inside and nothing more. I repeated this idea in my own home and have for years. And yet, when I look at them objectively, dressers have so many other uses. Best of all, they can hide and divide their contents to avoid a cluttered look.

Dressers can be used in almost any room, for many different purposes. Need storage for winter gear in your front hallway? A place to hold table linens and party supplies in your dining room might be nice. Maybe your playroom needs a great way to store Lego or other small toys. I have a dresser and nightstand set that I have been wanting to move into a playroom for some time and I think I will actually like it there better – especially after a coat of paint!

And if you really want to get creative, try buying a used dresser from your local Used.ca site and upcycling it into something new! There are lots of ideas in this blog post from my fellow blogger Paula: Easy Upcycle: Dressers.

All of the below were created from a simple dresser, and have taken on new lives:

Kitty haven

Entertainment centre

Bench

Kitchen island/counter

Dollhouse

Jewellery display

Try thinking of that dresser in your home as a possibility, a starting point for an idea. Then think of rooms where you could use a little style or tidy storage. A dresser might just fit the bill.

Where could you use some extra storage in your home? Have you ever tried using a dresser in a less traditional spot? We’d love to hear about it!

Useful links: find an old dresser to transform

Used furniture on your local Used.ca site

Writer, editor, recovering chocoholic. Most often found writing, drinking coffee, and chasing kids. Find her on Twitter @littlemissmocha.

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