How to upcycle drawers

Wow friends and family with your DIY skills thanks to our super simple guide for how to update a set of drawers.

Wow friends and family with your DIY skills thanks to our super simple guide for how to update a set of drawers.

Update an old and tired pair of existing drawers, make them look ten times better with your magical craft touch!

We’ve used wallpaper to match our living room to keep everything in a theme. With just this little touch you can make a really basic chest of drawers look stylish.

You might need a full day to do this one, with letting the paint dry between coats and fixing the updated handles in place, but it will be well worth your time. Just think of how much money you’ll be saving by upcycling something you’ve already got, and you can make it to suit your tastes exactly - perfect!

We would advise not showing your skill off to too many people, we’ve found the requests come flooding in once people find out you’re crafty.

But, if you’re feeling generous these would make a lovely gift for a family member or close friend, just as long as you know their taste really well.

You will need

-Chest of drawers

-Wallpaper

-PVA glue

-Paint

-Paint brushes

Step 1

Sand down your chest of drawers lightly to remove any loose paint or varnish. Decide which drawers you're going to wallpaper and remove them. Take off the handles and measure the front of the drawer. Cut out a piece of wallpapers that's at least 10cm longer and wider than the front.

Step 2

Apply PVA glue to the front of the drawer and stick the wallpaper in place. Make sure there are no air bubbles, then add glue to the inside edges and wrap the paper around the sides. Snip off the corners if the paper creases too much. Leave to dry.

Step 3

Paint the frame of the chest and the undecorated drawer fronts and leave to dry - they may need two coats/ One completely dry, reassemble.

Rosie Conroy
Food Writer

Rosie is an experienced food and drinks journalist who has spent over a decade writing about restaurants, cookery, and foodie products. Previously Content Editor at Goodto.com and Digital Food Editor on Woman&Home, Rosie is well used to covering everything from food news through to taste tests. Now, as well as heading up the team at SquareMeal - the UK's leading guide to restaurants and bars - she also runs a wedding floristry business in Scotland called Lavender and Rose.