Thrifty Mom In Boise: Night Stand Makeover

A couple weeks ago I picked up this cute little night stand at our neighbor's yard sale. It had the look I wanted and was made of sturdy hardwood. It was also covered in a thick layer of white paint with a lot of brush marks throughout and had been distressed. I know the distressed look is really in right now, but I'm not a huge fan so I was anxious to give it a facelift right from the get go.

I had hoped all it would need was a good sanding but it wasn’t to be. Upon further inspection I realized beneath the paint was some water damage to the drawer bottom and the back of nightstand. Both were warped and damaged beyond repair. I would need to replace both.

The heat from sanding was causing the original finish to bubble up through the paint making a bigger mess. At this point one might reconsider whether or not to continue on, but this piece had great bones and all wood furniture has value, at least to me. I really wanted to bring it back to life.

Only one thing to do at this point. Strip it.

I happened to have a nearly full can of furniture stripper in the garage. I'd had it for years and was thrilled to find it was still good. I spent a good two hours coating the entire piece by sections and scraping off the thick layer of paint and the original finish as well.

Once that was done I used a soft bristled brush and the hose to completely rinse the piece. Then I let it dry while I headed off to Home Depot for a piece of luan plywood to replace the drawer bottom and the back piece.

The idea, originally, was to spend as little as possible on this project. The wood was an unexpected expense, however I was able to defray most of the cost by returning something I had bought for another project and did not need. I asked for store credit knowing I was going to turn right around and make another purchase. I ended up spending less than a $1.50 on the plywood.

Once home it was time to sand and sand and sand. Then the youngest and I used my jigsaw to cut the new piece for the drawer. I slid it inside and tacked it with a single little finish nail. Then we cut the piece for the back, sanding the edges smooth and dry fitting it.

It was too hot outside to paint so we moved the project indoors. I had purchased a paint sample earlier in the week at Home Depot along with a couple sponge brushes. The paint has primer in it.

When I originally bought the night stand I had every intention of painting it white again. But Tania over at Little Vintage Cottage inspired me to try a color with this post. I settled on Blue Essex by Behr.

The girls were so fascinated when the gentleman at Home Depot mixed my paint. He had them come behind the counter and showed them how the machine works, showed them all the tints inside and how it worked. I was really impressed with that.

The paint sample was the perfect amount to give it two good coats all over. I painted the stand and then the drawer. I loved it instantly. I didn't want a baby blue nursery color and I was very pleased with the color I chose. It doesn't look like a baby's color at all. Much more adult and sophisticated.

I painted the interior side of the back piece and once it was dry I tacked it into place with a couple finish nails. Then I painted the back of the night stand and it was all finished.

Final touches, once the paint had dried, included this pretty knob. I had bought a bunch of these from Amazon when I redid the vanity in my bathroom. I just love these knobs and I think it works perfectly on this night stand.

While I love the idea of shelf liner I don't happen to love shelf liner itself. I find it hard to work with and it usually doesn't stay in place like I want it to. It also tends to curl at the edges. So instead I made this drawer liner out of a piece of pink gingham I had in my fabric stash. I trimmed it with some sweet little flower trim too. Love it!

It was a lot of work, a lot more than I originally bargained for, but I am thrilled with how it turned out. Better than I had hoped, actually. It was super fun too!