Emma-Jayne Scott is a designer from Auckland (New Zealand) who masterfully combines paint and wood when tuning and recycling furniture. Her specialty is chests of drawers and furniture that have drawers, since her designs focus especially on embellishing them by painting them with original motifs. Among her creations you will find these 35 ways to upcycle a dresser that you cannot miss.
Many times I have hesitated between painting a wooden piece of furniture and totally hiding the beauty of this material, or restoring it to restore its luster. Designer Emma-Jayne Scott proposes a solution halfway between the two: paint part of the wood and leave the rest visible. But she still goes further, her designs are really original, on many occasions it seems that you are looking at an authentic work of art instead of a dresser.
Recycle a dresser as if it were canvas
Some of the dressers that this designer has recycled are conceived as if they were a canvas. She has painted them without taking into account the divisions, as if instead of a set of drawers it were a mural.
In this case, gray and orange tones have been combined with the dark color of the wood. In addition, the drawer handles have been replaced by ropes.
I would define this type of decoration as a reverse stencil, since the part that has been left unpainted is the one that is normally painted.
In this case, the volume of the dresser has been played with and a design that simulates a television has been created.
Can you imagine the next dresser without that snowy landscape? It would certainly go completely unnoticed.
In this other chest of drawers, the drawing of the pen gives it an ethnic air.
This is undoubtedly an original way to recycle a chest of drawers for a child’s bedroom.
Replacing the drawer pulls with ropes gives this chest of drawers an even more tropical feel.
This could be a clear example that you don’t need a complicated design to create great effects.
Geometry and gradient colors to draw an original heart.
Another example of “reverse stencil”.
Without a doubt, this chest of drawers is a chromatic lesson in combining cold colours.
In this case, the unique shape of the furniture has been played with to create a fun combination.
a geometry lesson
I love geometric patterns (you can see the decoration of a home with geometric patterns at this link), especially triangles, as they give rise to multiple combinations.
In this case the triangles have been arranged in a way that simulates the sun’s rays.
Another very original option is to combine triangles and other geometric shapes of different colors.
This decoration also has an ethnic air.
The following chest of drawers would have gone completely unnoticed were it not for its blue and white design.
The decoration of this piece of furniture has enchanted me, both for the combination of colors and for the originality of the drawer handles.
In this case, an overlay effect and transparencies have been created.
Triangles painted on the natural pine wood bring this dresser to life.
Triangles that form triangles.
This layout is reminiscent of a straight flush.
In this case, the dresser gives the feeling of being an open book.
Another idea to recycle a classic chest of drawers and give it a casual touch.
I love how the combination of gray with yellow looks.
In this case, both the dresser and the bedside table have been decorated with the same motif.
This chest of drawers gives the feeling of being pixelated, I love the colors chosen.
Which direction would you go?
I love the optical illusion that is created with this piece of furniture, it gives the feeling that it is irregular when it really is not.
Recycle a Chevron Print Dresser
Without a doubt, another of my favorite patterns: zigzag lines or chevron patterns (you can see several examples at this link).
In these cases, only masking tape is needed to make a chevron pattern.
Although it can also be quite laborious as can be seen in the following images.
In the following images you can see how using different colors can create two different versions of the same design.
I have not found much information about the type of paint and treatment that the designer applies to the dressers that she recycles, as well as the techniques that she uses. Looking at her designs, but I imagine that, in addition to masking tape and some stencil template, she will use vinyl to create templates, as well as a large dose of patience.
What do you think of Emma-Jayne’s designs and her 35 ideas to recycle a dresser? Did you like the effect that is created by combining paint on wood? I personally liked that I’m sure I’ll try it soon with some furniture.
If you liked this post, you can find many more recycling ideas and DIY projects at .
Images via Draw’n In
