Make a loft-style dresser

Create with paint! Projects by Habitat by Resene

Bedroom storage: DIY loft-style dresser

Looking for a modern alternative to a dresser? This loft-style dresser is both stylish and easy to make yourself. Here’s how.

You will need: Plywood base, frameless mirror and clips, plywood shelves, pine dowels, drill, Resene roller and tray. Resene paint for the plywood base: we used 1 litre of Resene SpaceCote Flat tinted to Resene Alabaster, Resene testpots in your choice of colours: we used Resene Adrenalin, Resene Casablanca and Resene Guggenheim.

Measuring your loft-style dresser

The dresser was measured to fit the space it will live in. The staff at your local home improvement store can help with measurements and cut the wood and dowels to suit. They will also recommend the correct drill bits to use for making the dowel holes and attaching the mirror clips.

Top tip: Try Resene Colorwood Whitewash or Resene Greywash for a soft weather timber look that will allow the wood grain to show through.

› View instructions

Step by step instructions

Step one
Use the roller and Resene paint to cover the plywood base. Once dry, pencil where the mirror and dowels will be placed. Drill holes for the dowels where the shelves will be fixed.

Step two
Paint the shelves and dowels in your chosen colours, using Resene testpots. We used Resene Adrenalin, Resene Casablanca and Resene Guggenheim for ours.

Step three
Attach the mirror to the plywood base using the drill and mirror clips.

Step four
Stand the dresser upright (carefully) and position it in place (it sits well at a slight lean).

Step five
Push in the painted dowels and place the shelves. It’s now ready to use!

We made an extra hole and used a slightly shorter dowel to create a hook to hang a coat, scarf or umbrella.

Step five contd.

Styling by Leigh Stockton, photography by Melanie Jenkins.

Projects by Habitat by Resene

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