Easy 3-Drawer DIY Dresser

Build a simple 3-drawer DIY dresser with these detailed plans and tutorial. It makes a great project for a beginner woodworker.

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Building a DIY dresser is a great project for beginner woodworkers. It helps understand the basic concepts – building boxes because 90% of woodworking is all about building boxes and a dresser is just a few boxes inside a box.

Building this dresser will help you understand the concepts of square, aligning, and installing drawers.

I collaborated with Tylynn from Bitterroot DIY for this dresser. I designed and drew up the plans and she built it!

The great thing about this project is that:

• it uses basic plywood and lumber available at the home improvement store
• uses basic power tools – a drill, miter saw, circular saw, nail gun
• can be customized with paint or stain to match your decor

AND if you need a larger dresser, be sure to check out the matching DIY 5-drawer dresser.

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How to Build the Dresser

When you build this dresser, be sure to use an anti-tip kit to keep is safe and attached to the wall.

Tylynn has the step by step pictures of her building the dresser. I outline the process below.

Step 1 – Make Cuts

Cut the boards and the plywood per the plans.

See my tutorial on how to use a miter saw to accurately cut boards.

Cutting plywood –

I like to have larger sheets cut down to a reasonable size at the store (most stores will do that for you). Usually, it is to get it to fit in the car because they aren’t very accurate at the store.

At home, I use my circular saw with a Kreg Jig rip cut or a homemade straight edge jig to make smaller more accurate cuts. More details on that coming soon.

Of course, if you have a table saw, you can totally use that!

Step 2 – Build Sides

Make pocket holes in the plywood and and attach to the 2×2 legs using pocket hole screws and wood glue to build the two sides.

Attach trim to the sides using wood glue and finish nails.

Step 3 – Add Bottom

Build bottom using plywood and 1×2 and attach to both the sides.

Step 4 – Add Rails and Dividers

Attach the 1×2 rails and drawer dividers between the two sides to build the carcass of the dresser.

Step 5 – Build the Drawers

Build the three drawers as per the plans and install them.

Nervous about building drawers? Take a look at my guide to building drawers for beginners.

Step 6 – Build and Install Top

Build the top using plywood and 1×2 boards and install by attaching with pocket hole screws and wood glue.

Of course, the top is installed with the drawers removed.

Step 7 – Finish

Paint or stain the dresser in the color of your choice.

If you decided to paint it, be sure to check out my guide to painting unfinished pine furniture to get long lasting results.

That’s it!

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Tylynn did an amazing job on this dresser.

I love the stain color she picked too! 

Be sure to visit Tylynn’s blog, where she shows you all the steps to build this dresser and shares many more pictures. 

If you are ready to build the dresser, get the plans to build it below! 

Thanks to Tylynn for collaborating on this project. Stop by Tylynn’s blog for all the building details and tips! 

Happy building! 

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