2/17/14

Nightstand Makeover

Well its Monday morning and I must say I was extra disappointed to see this weekend end. It was a great one but not because I did anything overly exciting. I had a wonderful, low-key Valentines day with my guy as well as a day of exploring. The weather was absolutely beautiful all weekend which I think greatly added to its appeal and that nice weather is supposed to stay all week so I'm happy with that. In addition to the weekends activities I also finished up a project I have been working on.

I started the makeover of this nightstand earlier in the week and was doing one step a day (most days) and finally got to the end yesterday. I must say I am so happy with the results and will now have to take up the project of making the dresser match.

You can see the makeover of the matching dresser Here

 
This was my first attempt at painting a piece of furniture so before I started I set out on Pinterest to find a good set of instructions. After reading quite a few I pulled all the best information from all of them and went from there.
 
Things you Need:
  • Sander or sandpaper
  • Wood filler- Elmers
  • Primer- I used Zinsser brush on formula (oil based)
  • Paint rollers
  • Angled paint brush
  • Paint of Choice
  • Paint Conditioner - I used Floetral
  • Hardware - knobs and drawer pulls
  • Drill
Step by Step:
  1. Remove all existing hardware, if you intend to reuse it then just set aside
  2. Sand down the piece, I used a sander and went over it a couple times. You don't need to sand it completely down to the bare wood
  3. Wipe off all dust with a wet wash cloth, important to get it all off so it doesn't get in the paint
  4. Fill in any scuffs, scrapes, etc. with wood filler. I also filled in the existing holes where the drawer pull was on the bottom drawer because they didn't match up with the measurements for the new set I bought.
  5. Sand over any areas you used wood filler on to make them even with the rest.
  6. Now you are ready to prime, I used two coats leaving at least an hour between them to dry.
  7. Let the primer dry overnight (if you have all day you would probably be ok with just a few hours)
  8. Mix in paint conditioner into your paint per instructions on the bottle
  9. Apply two coats of paint and allow to dry
  10. If you are not using existing hardware holes then drill new ones
  11. Reattach new hardware
  12. Complete, Step back and admire your work
 
Some things I learned and you should know before you take on a similar project:
  • All over Pinterest you see posts about how people redid their furniture similar to this for $20 or less, well that will not be the case unless you have all your supplies already laying around the house (which some people might if they do projects like this often) If not you will have to buy them all, for me that came out to over $100, which is a lot but ultimately a lot cheaper than buying a new set of bedroom furniture
  • This project is messy, seriously I couldn't believe what a mess primer is in particular, make sure you are in a good space to work and put a tarp down
  • It likely wont be perfect, I was a little disappointed when I looked at the end paint job up close because it wasn't perfect, however once I put the hardware on and stepped back to look at it, it really does look nice and you can only see the imperfections upon close examination
  • Use a foam paint roller, the first one I got was not and left little "hairs/lint" in the paint
  • Overall a project like this is pretty awesome and something I will do again in the future


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