Night Stands with Pretty Details

Before you can try your own hand painted nightstands, you need to find a good thrifted pair.  If you saw my desk project from last week, then you know that I recently found a local furniture thrift store and I found these nightstands there.  

I got both for $25!  They were in pretty good shape, but we did make a couple repairs.  Here’s how they originally looked.

The list of products I used today is shorter than for most projects I do, so it’s a great one for beginners.  

Resources:

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• Nightstands (thrifted)
• White Lightning
• Plastic wood (hardware store)
• Latte
• Textured paintable wall paper (online)
• Cashmere
• Coffee Bean
• Clear coat satin
• Hardware (Hobby Lobby)

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Making Repairs

The drawer of one of the night stands had a missing chunk.  (Unfortunately, I didn’t get a good photo of it.)  My go-to product for that is usually Bondo, but lately I’ve been loving Plastic Wood.  You can pick it up at your local hardware or big box store, and it’s really easy to use.  It doesn’t have the stinky smell of Bondo either.

I put on a latex glove and just use my fingers to dip into the putty and smooth it onto the damaged area.  Once it starts to dry a little, you can really mold it into the shape needed.

It dries in about an hour, depending how big the repair is, and then you can sand it.  I did add more Plastic Wood after I sanded the first application, and sanded again.  I like to apply clear coat to it before painting to make sure it doesn’t absorb the paint more or less than the area around it.

There was also a piece missing that bridges the gap between the two doors.  My father-in-law cut a piece of wood to size for me, and the hubby installed it.  Bet you can’t even tell which one!

Hand Painted Nightstands

Dixie Belle is releasing some gorgeous Fall colors on Wednesday!  I used Latte, a beautiful light coffee color, on these night stands. 

Update: The Fall colors are no longer available, but you can re-create Latte by mixing 60% Mud Puddle with 40% Sawmill Gravy. Instead of Cashmere, you can use Drop Cloth.

The night stands have two coats of Latte which I lightly distressed around the edges.  The top is blended with Coffee Bean, Latte (hey, I just realized the whole coffee theme!) and some water to give it a little color variation and interest versus just one solid color.

Pretty Details

The night stands were looking pretty plain at this stage.  They were improved over their original state, but lacked a little something.  That’s when I decided to add some textured paintable wallpaper I’ve had forever to the front door panels.

I used some tissue paper to make a template of the door inset.  I held it up and just used my fingers to crease around the raised panel.  Then I cut it out, traced it on the wallpaper and cut out the wallpaper.

To adhere it, I used some spray adhesive as well as some clear coat satin.  I painted it with Latte, and dry brushed over the raised details with Cashmere.  Cashmere is another Fall release color, a light buttery cream yellow color.

The hardware is from Hobby Lobby.  These knobs and handles really take these night stands to the next level and make them unique.

Lastly, I sealed everything with two coats of clear satin.  A tip for brushing on clear coat is to use a brush you keep dedicated for clear coat only, no paint.  That way you’re sure not to have any old crusty paint in the brush that transfers into your clear coat.

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