New Painted Nightstand
January 5, 2012
Well I’m up to my old tricks again, repainting pieces I find at thrift stores. I found a sweet little carved nightstand a few weeks ago and just had to have it. Turns out, it’s absolutely perfect for my stepdaughter’s bedroom. She’s in college now, and back to university this week, but even though she’s away many months, we keep the room for her for when she returns home. (Empty nesters: this is where you give me all your best advice on how to cope…)
We also use this space as a guest room when friends and family come to visit. The old particle board side table that used to be there was a little too big and didn’t offer any storage, so I replaced it with this new painted nightstand. I love it!
It all started with a skinny little nightstand I spied at a local second hand store, I fell in love with the carved detail on the front but it was a little beat up. Nothing a little wood filler and paint won’t fix!
For this quick makeover, I used my quart of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White ~ it’s quick and easy, once you’ve made your repairs with wood filler, apply two coats of chalk paint (no need to prime) and allow it to dry then one coat of soft wax ~ you’ll have a beautiful refinished piece in just two days.
I’ve used other waxes as a protective coat, but this is my first time using the AS Soft Wax and it’s really nice. I love the hand rubbed matte finish of waxes, especially with the more traditional, distressed, or European style pieces. To highlight the detail in the ridges I applied with some gray acrylic paint with an inexpensive artist’s brush.
I’ve had these blue blingy knobs for over a year… spied them in a clearance bin… can’t recall where but I’ve been waiting for the right piece to use them on.
Perfection!
This painted nightstand is a great little addition to this bright feminine space…
And hello tulips! I couldn’t believe it when I saw them at local grocery store the other day, it feels like cheating winter, not that there’s anything wrong with that. I usually don’t see tulips until February, but hey, I’ll take a hint of spring wherever I can get it.
The lamp was a fun DIY project, you can follow these directions for how to silver leaf a lamp, and that little retro chrome clock was a $10 find at Tar-jay, sweet!
Sparkly blue knobs and tulips…it’s the little things in life that make me happy.
BTW it’s that lens I mentioned in this post that takes these amazingly bright and beautiful close ups… Speaking of photography, hop on over to visit with Miss Mustard Seed as she shares her tips on photography and styling in the continuing ‘Growing Your Blog’ series.
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Tags: chalk paint, nightstand
I absolutely love this! I remember the first piece of furniture I painted. Wow! thinking about it that was about 18 yrs ago :) It was a dresser that I painted black believe me it was ok but not as beautiful as your nightstand. I would purchase that from store if someone sold it. We definitely have something in common.
Another amazing and lovely DIY, I absolutely <3 your blog! True inspiration!
This is Glam
This is Glam’s Shop
I am wondering if you could tell me where you got the gray headboard for the bed? I am in LOVE with it!
Love the nightstand too!!
Kate, I have TWO of these (almost exact) nightstands just sitting in my garage waiting for me to purchase Annie Sloane’s paint. It is time. Thanks for the constant inspiration!
[...] can get the full details here at Centsational Girl on how to transform an old wooden piece into a sleek piece you would otherwise pay a small fortune [...]
Hi Lindsey, I made that headboard, you can see the whole how-to here:
http://www.centsationalgirl.com/2010/01/diy-simple-tufted-headboard/
Kate
Thank you. Ideas and helpful hints sure help.
Hi Kate. I adore that nightstand. If you ever get tired of it, I’m in Petaluma too and would gladly take it off your hands!
Beautiful! What are the pros of chalk paint? I never knew it existed… and truth be told, I misread the entire article as Chalk Board paint! lol
Ha! I know Heather, a lot of folks get confused, but this is a special formula created by Annie Sloan and it’s really fantastic! I’ve used it on three pieces to date and have become a big fan!
Kate
Hello Kate,
Can you please tell me what type of soft wax will you recommend for a hutch I just painted? I made my own chalk paint using Plaster of Paris and I was happy with the results until I used Minwax water-based Polycrylic in clear satin to protect it and even when I was careful not to apply too much to the hutch, it left streaks all over the hutch!
Do you think a soft wax product will make it look better? or should I stick with the Polycrylic and try to add another layer? Please help!
Thank you!
Hi Giovanna, yes I would use a furniture wax instead, try either Minwax clear or SC Johnson or Briwax – they are readily available at home improvement and hardware stores.
Kate