How to Repair and Revive a Tired NightStand

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I’m trying to put the finishing touches on my daughters bedroom and also refresh some of the furniture I bought up from – yes – the basement. Keep reading to see how I painted an old nightstand and gave it a fresh nightstand makeover.

This tired looking nightstand had once belonged to my dad but lately it had just been taking up space. I thought it would make a nice addition to the girl’s room. After all we can always use extra storage space! But first it needed to be repaired and revived and get a nightstand makeover.

Unfortunately, it had quite a few issues. First of all, there was the color, which was far from a crispy, clean white but more like a cream that had gone sour. If you have followed me on this journey so far, you will recall that I had wanted a nice clean look for the room. 

Also, those colored knobs stood out like a sore thumb. Then there was the peeling paint.

And lastly, we had a nice big crack on one side, which I hadn’t even noticed till I got this thing upstairs.  I guess you could say I had my work cut out for me for this nightstand makeover.

What I Used for my Nightstand Makeover

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• DecoArt Americana Satin Enamel Paint in White
• Decoart Americana Decor Wood Reclaim 
• ​Sandpaper
• ​DecoArt Americana Dazzling Metallics Pearl Black
• Deco Art Varnish Ultra Matte
• Contact paper

Nightstand Makeover How-To

I decided to make quick work out of this one and started off with my favorite paint the Satin Enamel Paint from DecoArt. I keep on using the DecoArt Enamil paint in white because it goes on easily and the best part – there is no top coat needed. Two coats was all it needed. 

You can actually see the difference between the crisp white paint and the yellow on the left side of the nightstand.

For the crack I used the wood reclaim. I applied it and then just let it dry and repeated until it had filled in all the cracks. I also sanded between coats. I had previously used this on a bigger mess on my Mid-Century China Cabinet. 

Then I went about removing all the color from this table. The knobs were painted with a Metallic black pearl color. Originally we had planned to use the same color we used on these bed frames but my girl felt it was too shiny so we went with a solid black and no metallic overtones. 

For the side table, we could afford to have some bling. There is nothing wrong with color, but it would have ruined the look of the room. 

 And since I had the paint out already I started to just add dry brush strokes on the top.  This was on top of the satin finish paint I had already used.

​You can see here how rough and “edgy” it looks in black.  If it was brown it would look like wood, but here we are going to call it edgy!  “wink”
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And finally because I wanted to protect that tabletop I added a varnish to finish it off. Let me clarify, if I had just gone with the satin finish paint I wouldn’t have needed a topcoat, as I said before it doesn’t need one.  But since I added the metallic paint on top, I didn’t want to risk it. 

I used a matte finish because I was in a rush to get this finished.  If I had wanted to go shiny,  I would have gone with the DuraClear High Gloss Finish.

 You can see how I used feathered brush strokes along the edges of the table top. 
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​And for the WOW factor? I added some contact paper on the outer sides of the drawers.  Yes, it is the same one that covers all those storage boxes. 

Isn’t she a beauty?
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​The brushstrokes have an almost rustic quality to them. 
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The pretty toile flowers also soften the black and white look, which my girls love so much.

Here she is in her rightful place in the room, between the ombre wall and the bed. I do believe that the color of the top mimics the pebbles in the painting. That painting is staying here for now since it is a gift to the daughter who loves blue.  

 I am so happy with how this nightstand makeover turned out. It is no longer tired looking. And it also has a few secrets hiding on the side. I think my decision to go with the metallic black paint has really done it justice. Don’t you agree?  

The Black and White Bedroom

This month I have been feverishly working on the girl’s bedroom. Check out all the projects I’ve done in this room, you can see them all together.