Balsa Wood Dresser Update

It’s that time of month again, friends! It’s time for the Monthly DIY challenge! In case you’re new, here’s the scoop: On the 2nd Wednesday of every month, me and my bloggy friends get together and create something based on a common material or idea that everyone uses. The end results are so unique and fantastic! So far we’ve done Michaels crates, pumpkins, wood slicesclear ornamentsorganizational solutions,  plumbing pieces,  the dollar store, and trash to treasure. This month we chose wood scraps/shims/etc. – basically anything to do with wood! Be sure to stick around to the end of the post to see everyone else’s AMAZING projects!

monthly diy challenge

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You might remember this white dresser from my Wayfair Pop of Color post from last week. It’s a pretty standard and sturdy dresser. We inherited it from some family members; it’s story is a sad one and ever since the owners have wanted this dresser (and other baby furniture) to be passed down within the family.

wayfair pop of color decorating with gold

I’m super appreciative of the free furniture! It’s so special that it’s been passed down to a few family members already. However, we already have a LOT of white furniture in our home, especially in this room, and I wanted to find a way to mix up the look of this piece without permanently altering it.

Enter balsa wood! I was inspired by Katie of Little House of Four’s AMAZING specimen cabinet that she made with balsa wood – so genius! Balsa wood is SO super light and can easily be cut with an exacto knife. I picked up a bunch of pieces from Michaels and then set about to cutting them down to size to fit the fronts of my dresser and then stained them with an oaky stain from Rust-Oleum.

balsa wood dresser update

Above is the unstained plank of balsa wood, and the below is after a coat or two of stain. I purposefully stained different boards with a different amount of stain and set times so that each piece would look varied.

After that, I wanted to find a way to non-permanently attach my balsa planks to my dresser drawer fronts. What ended up working best was double-sided tape, if you can believe it! I simply put a bunch of double-sided tape on the backs of the planks and then pressed them into place.

balsa wood dresser update

There were a couple unruly planks that had warped a bit while drying, so for extra hold I used a bit of hot glue. The surface of the dresser drawers is laminate-smooth, so the hot glue will easily peel off whenever I want to switch up the look or pass the furniture on to another family member!

balsa wood dresser update

Simple as that! A quick and easy project using balsa wood to make a beautiful dresser update! I really love how it varies the look but then can also be removed easily as I need it to be.

balsa wood dresser update

balsa wood dresser update

balsa wood dresser update

balsa wood dresser update

balsa wood dresser update

balsa wood dresser update

balsa wood dresser update

balsa wood dresser update

balsa wood dresser update

I think it’s a great way to temporarily mix up all the white furniture in our office space for a pretty cheap budget! The warmth and texture it brings to the room is a great addition to our space!

balsa wood dresser update

Now stick around and check out all of my friend’s fabulous creations! They are seriously swoon-worthy and such fantastic inspiration. Click on a picture below to be taken to their post!

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