These VW camper van upcycled chest of drawers cost only £25!

If you’re a fan of the ’60s or simply a VW camper van fan then you are going to love this DIY enthusiast’s upcycled chest of drawers.

Jaynie Wilkinson from Heckmondwike, West Yorks, transformed a set of plain wooden drawers into the iconic VW camper van for just £20! Her chest of drawers proved a huge hit when she posted them on the Facebook group Extreme Budget DIY & Life Hacks.

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‘Been seeing these about and loved them so much I did a pair of my own! #iloveupcycling must admit they proved to be a challenge but I am suited with how they’ve turned out,’ she wrote on the post that clocked up 636 likes

To create the playful upcycled chest of drawers Jaynie started by removing the bottom wooden panel and handles from the drawers – that she had picked up for £5.

‘I filled all the holes with wood filler then sanded the whole unit down when the filler was dry,’ she explains so that she would get a smooth finish when she painted the drawers.

Using a mini roller for an even finish she covered the top of the chest of drawers and trim around the sides and front in Johnston’s metallic paint in silver. ‘I cut a mini roller into quarters and used that to paint the silver trim to get a smooth line and I measured everything so it was even on both sides,’ she adds.

She painted the top half of the drawers with B&Q furniture paint in Toronto and filled in the bottom of the drawers with a couple of coats of 3V3 furniture paint in almond green from B&Q.

‘When it was dry I measured up the windows and used a few coats of silver paint to make the windows then used black gloss for the registration plate,’ Jaynie says.

The upcycled chest of drawers was left to dry overnight before being coated in B&Q colours varnish in clear satin.

Once everything was dry Jaynie added the finishing touches.

‘I put silver handles on, using a drill for the holes, making them look like windscreen wipers. I then drilled holes for the smaller headlights (made out of wooden handles) on the second drawers and attached them with screws,’ she explains.

She attached the VW sign with a glue gun but opted to use velcro to attach the spotlights – she’d picked some up on eBay for £4.50 for a pack of 4. ‘I used velcro to attach the spotlights so I can easily take them off when I need to change the batteries,’ she explains.

Have you been driven to pick up your paintbrush and attempt a DIY campervan?

Rebecca Knight has been the Editor on the Ideal Home Website since 2025; previously, she was the Deputy Digital Editor from 2022. She has a Master's degree in magazine journalism from City, University of London and has been writing about homes and interiors for 7 years. Her expertise lies in DIY projects, home decor trends and spotting the latest high street homeware buys that are about to go viral. She bought her first home in London last year and is currently renovating it (on a budget).