What to Do With Mismatched Dressers

Alter the Dressers

• Use paint or stain to bring the dressers closer to looking alike. You can paint over finished wood furniture or stain unfinished pieces. You would need to strip paint or stain from finished pieces to give them a new look. You don't need to get a perfect match as long as it's close. If the pieces have a similar size but different details, this works well.

Camouflage the Difference

• Find a way to make the two pieces more alike. For example, alter the drawer pulls, choosing a basic piece for both. Cover the tops of each dresser with decorative scarves or fabric in similar tones. If you can't find the time to refinish both pieces, try painting one to blend with the other. If you have one wood dresser painted white and one wood dresser of dark wood, consider painting only the dresser drawer faces white. This way, they harmonize better.

Placement in the Room

• Try moving the dressers to opposite sides of the room, one strategy that helps hide mismatched furniture. Create two separate zones in the bedroom, one for each dresser. Unite the zones through color. For example, choose red as an accent color and put red area rugs beneath each dresser, or place a red vase on one and a red lamp on the other. This works if you need a quick change to unify the room more but can't put money into the process.

If You Can't Live With It...

• If you can't stand the idea of mismatched furniture and can't commit the time to changing one or both of the pieces, it might be time to go furniture shopping. Decide what degree of difference you can live with and then look for a new piece that's in your budget and meets your criteria. For example, you might prefer the dressers to be in the same hue of wood or be roughly the same size but have different finishes. If you can pinpoint what exactly you don't like, you can find something that works for you.