I am finally sharing how I made this DIY Subway Dresser for my son’s room. It is one of my favorite pieces in his room. It was fun to be able to personalize it with some of his favorite sports team because this kid is a very big sports fan. He loves to play them (lacrosse, football and basketball are his favorites), as much as he enjoys watching them.
His favorite color is navy blue. So I made sure to bring some of that color into his room. I took his old red IKEA dresser and lightly sanded it all over to rough up the paint. Then I took a brush and wiped on some white paint so that it was streaked and imperfect. I did this because I wanted some of the red paint to show through on the writing and give it some character.
Then I came up with a list of some of his favorite sports teams fields and stadiums. I created each word in my Cricut Explore (a Silhouette will work too) and made them various heights and tried to match them up so they were all about the same width to fit on the dresser drawers. You will need to adjust this according to the size of your own dresser and words.
Then I cut the names out in some scrap vinyl that I had laying around. Carefully measure and then apply them to the front of the drawers on top of the white paint. Make sure they are all sealed against the dresser so that there are not any bubbles under the vinyl.
Paint your dresser first so that it is completely done especially since you may need more than one coat of paint. Then paint the drawer fronts. I only wanted to paint one coat on the drawers so that I could pull off the vinyl quickly when the paint is still wet. Paint completely over the vinyl letters. Then working quickly, while the paint is still wet, very carefully pull up the vinyl letters. It might be helpful to have another set of hands while you do this. Then finish painting the sides of the drawers where you may need two coats of paint.
I found that if the paint dried, the paint tends to pull up and not give you as clean as a paint edge as you would like. If you do have some spots where the paint gets pulled up all you need to do is take a small paint brush (like you would use for crafting) and dab a little bit of the paint in those areas.
Let you paint dry completely and then paint a clear varnish over the dresser. This will keep your paint in good condition. I like to use Matte Varnish rather than a glossy or semi-gloss varnish…but any of them will work fine.
The fun picture is just a poster that he got for Christmas one year. My husband’s office was getting a makeover at about the same time we were working on my sons’ room. The office was planning on taking the old pictures to the thrift store and my husband snagged a couple of the larger frames (isn’t he a keeper?). One of them was the perfect size for my son’s poster!
I also shared the tutorial for DIY Sports Scoreboard I built and the Peg Board Shelves that are hanging on the other walls of his bedroom. So be sure to check those out if you are interested in how we made them!
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Lou Kilburn says
Hi Amy
Love the dresser update – looks amazing! Can I ask where you got the Navy and White striped bedding from please – I would love it for my son! I am based in the UK so am hoping wherever you got it from ships over here!
Love Lou x
Amy says
I found it on West Elm!
I always love your bedding! I really need some sprucing in the bedding area.
Great Boys dresser…surely you painted the dresser first then the drawers separately…or did you only use one coat???
Right. I should be sure and clarify that! I did paint the dresser first and rolled the drawers. I rolled the drawers with one coat only though. I applied it a little thicker than I normally do so that I would only need one coat.
Could you please tell me which cricut cartridge you used? I love the font!
I didn’t use a cartridge. I just used my cricut explore. I wish I could remember the font. It is probably Arial or Times… Sorry! I should have written it down!
I love this!! My boys have a navy room and I am in need of a new dresser!
I am so glad this was helpful to you! I love Navy too!!
Love the dresser and the whole room! What brand and color is the dresser painted?
Looks great! Nicely done. what brand and color did you pain the walls? thanks:)