How to Build a Tall Dresser

In this post, I’m sharing how to build a tall dresser chest to maximize storage in a small bedroom.

This six drawer chest design is part of a matching bedroom furniture set that I’ve been sharing over the last year or so.

Out of habit, I guess, I usually build my dressers short and wide. So, after sharing the two different wide dresser designs in this matching set, I had several requests to build a tall chest of drawers as well.

One of the biggest advantages of a tall dresser is that it maximizes storage vertically with a minimal footprint horizontally.

So it’s perfect for smaller bedrooms where you don’t have a lot of floor space to work with.

Luckily a tall dresser is often easier to build than a wider one, so if you’re ready to tackle building your own, I’ll show you how below.

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What to consider before building

I know that dressers can be an intimidating project for some–especially one with so many drawers! But, I like to think of dressers as a box (the dresser frame) with a bunch of smaller boxes inside (the dresser drawers).

So if you can build a box, you can build a dresser. First, let’s cover some helpful tips before getting started.

What Type of Wood To Build a Chest of Drawers With

This tall dresser build is made entirely from plywood except for the front and back frames and the side trim, which are solid lumber. I used red oak for this particular dresser, but any wood type you prefer would work fine.

Construction lumber (like pine, spruce, fir) and birch plywood is a more budget friendly option that would work great as well.

If you’re new to DIY, check out this post to learn more about choosing plywood for your projects and this post about how and where to buy lumber.

Material Sizing Notes

This plan calls for 2x2s for the front and back frames. (Did you know 2x2s aren’t 2″ x 2″? Learn more about understanding lumber sizing here.)

I recommend ripping the 2×2 pieces down from 2x4s and/or 2x6s if you have a table saw. Making your own 2x2s usually saves some money, but also gives you better quality 2x2s (less warped and twisted) than the precut ones from the store.

RELATED: How to cut your own 2x2s

And you can reuse the off cuts for lattice trim on the sides, too! See tutorial video for more information.

Matching Bedroom Furniture Set

If you’re looking to build the whole set, you can find the plans for the matching pieces here:

• Matching Storage Bed
• Matching Modern Nightstand
• Matching 6 Drawer Dresser
• Matching 9 Drawer Dresser

Overall Dimensions

Overall dimensions of this dresser as shown in the plans below are approximately 18 ½″ deep x 30″ wide x 52 ½″ tall.

Helpful Resources for the Build

If you’re new to building drawers, don’t worry! I’ll walk you through the entire drawer building process from start to finish in this step by step drawer building series (with videos!). I’ve broken it down into four parts:

• How to measure for and size drawer boxes
• How to assemble a drawer box
• How to install drawer slides
• How to install drawer fronts

Prefer to print the whole thing? Grab the Ultimate Drawer Building Guide which includes all four parts in a printable e-book you can take to the shop with you.

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How to Build a Basic Tall Dresser

I’ve included the step by step building instructions below along with printable building plans. But, if you prefer to watch, I’ve also included a build video as well. 

Check out the video for tips, visuals, and some extra clips from behind the scenes!

Love watching how-to videos? Subscribe to my YouTube channel for plenty more where that came from!

Prefer to print? Grab the printable modern chest of drawers building plans here:

Tools & Materials:

Step 1: Assemble Front & Back Frames

To start this build, first, I needed to assemble two frames for the dresser. These are the parts of the project that are made from solid wood and will be the front and back.

I used 2x2s to build these two frames and I ripped them down from a 2×4 board (see notes above), and trimmed them to length. But, again, you can certainly use precut 2x2s if you’d like.

Note: If you rip your own 2x2s, note that 2x4s are 3 ½″ wide and 2x2s are 1 ½″ square. So after ripping two 2x2s from a 2×4, you’ll have a ~ ¼″ thick piece left. You can save this pieces to use as lattice trim later!

All the dimensions, cut diagrams, and cut lists can be found in the printable building plans here.

Then, I assembled these pieces into two identical frames using dowel pins and glue. But, you could also assemble using 1 ½″ pocket holes and 2 ½″ pocket hole screws if you’d rather.

If you’re new to using dowels, this guide walks you through how to use a dowel jig. The jig I used for this project is the new Kreg Doweling Jig, so the jig shown in the guide looks a bit different than the photo above, but it works the same.

I clamped the frames while the glue dried, then sanded away any glue squeeze out before moving on.

Step 2: Assemble Dresser Sides

From here, the rest of the tall dresser build is assembled with plywood. So I cut two ¾″ plywood side panels to attach between the frames from step 1 using pocket holes and screws.

RELATED: How to use a pocket hole jig

Be sure if driving into hardwood, like oak, use fine thread pocket hole screws! Check out this guide to choosing the right screws for your project.

I installed these panels flush to the inside of the dresser legs. This makes installing the drawer slides easier later.

Prefer to print? Grab the printable building plans for this project here.

Step 3: Install Drawer Dividers

I wanted to divide the top section of this tall dresser into two smaller drawers. So, that meant I needed to add a divider to separate them and to give me somewhere to mount the slides.

I cut a piece of ¾″ plywood to use as my divider and I used a jig saw to cut a 1 ½″ square notch out of the top back corner so it would fit around the back 2×2 frame.

Then I cut some ¾″ plywood strips to divide out all of my drawer sections. There will be 5 sections total: 4 large drawers at the bottom and two small drawers at the top.

I sectioned off the top drawers first and clamped my notched divider to the side of my dresser to help me position two divider strips.

I installed one strip at the back and one strip ½″ inset from the front edge using pocket holes and screws.

NOTE: I edge banded the front edge of my drawer dividers to hide the plywood edges. This makes it look much cleaner. Learn how to apply edge banding here.

After my top two plywood strips were installed into the frame, I centered the notched plywood piece and used wood screws to secure it at the bottom.

You’ll see I drilled a pocket hole at the top corner to secure it to the top frame (ignore the bottom pocket hole–that was a mistake!). And I used a 2″ wood screw to secure it to the top back frame.

From there, I installed three more drawer divider strips evenly spaced in the bottom section of the dresser. These will divide the large drawers. These dividers only need to be installed toward the front of the dresser, not at the back.

Just to give this basic dresser some extra interest and dimension, I installed all my divider strips ½″ inset from the front edge of the dresser.

Step 4: Build & Install Dresser Drawers

I installed six pair of 16″ ball bearing drawer slides into the tall dresser to mount the drawers to.

These drawers will be inset and the drawer front will be ¾″ plywood with a piece of ¼″ lattice trim on the front (more on that in just a minute), so it will be 1″ thick total. 

PS this Kreg MultiMark tool is super handy to have in the shop for quick measurements and offsets.

So I installed the slides 1″ inset from the drawer dividers so that the drawer fronts will be flush to them once installed.

RELATED: How to install drawer slides

Then I built six drawer boxes–two small ones for the top section and four larger ones for the bottom section.

RELATED: How to determine drawer sizing for any project

I assembled the drawer boxes from ¾″ plywood (for the sides) and ¼″ plywood (for the bottom) using pocket holes and screws.

Check out how to assemble drawer boxes here.

Then, I installed the drawer boxes into the chest. There are several ways to install drawer boxes, but I like to place some ¼″ scrap plywood pieces on the divider below the drawer, pull the slides flush to the front, and simply screw them in.

Learn how to install drawers and drawer slides here.

Printable building plans with cut list, cut diagrams and dimensions for this DIY tall dresser can be found here.

Step 5: Build & Install Drawer Fronts

Once the boxes were in, I cut drawer fronts from ¾″ plywood to fit the openings. They should be ¼″ shorter and ¼″ narrower than the opening.

For the top drawer front, I cut it as one solid piece to fit the opening, then cut it in the center (for the two separate drawers) so that the grain matched across the front.

Then I applied iron on edge banding to the sides and top of each one. To give them some extra detail, I cut some ¼″ thick x 1 ½″ wide strips to glue onto the front flush to the left and right edges.

Then I placed these into the openings, made sure the gaps on all sides were even (⅛″), and screwed them in from the inside of the drawer box.

Step 6: Add Top & Trim

Adding trim onto the sides is optional, but helps dress this up a little. I cut to fit and glued some 1×2 pieces to go on the top and bottom of each side panel.

Then, I cut some ¼″ x 1 ½″ lattice trim to line the sides vertically between them. This lattice trim kind of ties in the lattice on the drawer front, but isn’t necessary if you don’t want to add it.

Finally, I trimmed a piece of ¾″ plywood 1″ wider and ½″ deeper than the dresser frame and edge banded the front and sides. This will be the top.

I placed it on the frame with ½″ overhang on the sides and front and screwed it in from the bottom side. (You’ll have to remove the drawer boxes to have room for the drill/driver.)

To finish, I applied a wood stain (Minwax Weathered Oak) to the drawer fronts and the dresser body, then sealed it with a few coats of Minwax Polycrylic.

Once that was dry, I slid the drawers back in place and added some simple black knobs to finish it up.

If you want to build your own, don’t forget to grab the printable plans for this 6 drawer tall dresser here. Or if you want to build them the matching set, grab the bedroom build plan bundle with all the pieces.

Dressers are my favorite projects to build! So I have several fun styles and sizes to choose from if you’re looking for more DIY dresser ideas.

Here are a few of my personal favorite dresser builds you may enjoy browsing:

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Until next time, friend, happy building!