Vintage Car Inspired Night Stand

by Beth M

Medium

I took a basic, vintage Waterfall style nightstand and recreated it to give the impression of a vintage automobile. I was inspired by a really neat looking one I had found through Pinterest by Gadget Sponge (http://www.gadgetsponge.com/posts/2012/10/11/retromoto-vanity-lit-custom-red-nightstandside-table.html) but mine took on a much simpler design once I got into redoing it.

vintage car inspired night stand, bedroom ideas, painted furniture

I don't have any "before" pictures of it, but it was just the standard stained wood in great shape & no peeling veneer.

First, I painted the whole cabinet with a white primer spray paint, then I used a gloss red spray paint. That was probably the easiest part of the whole project. I chose a WHITE primer paint so that I could get the brightest red. In my own personal experience, the darker the primer paint is, the deeper the tone of red you get. This is MY OWN experience, others may disagree with me on that and that's fine.

The worst part was trying to tape off the accent trim areas. It took me several tries at touching up the areas along the edges that meet the sides. These parts were spray painted using a shiny Chrome-like paint. I have to say that they looked pretty good, although not mirror-like shiny, close enough that people were looking closely at it just to be sure. The only parts on this that are actually metal are the emblem, the handle & the basket.

I found the vintage Chevy fender skirt emblem at a flea market. The reproduction car handle was the perfect accent for the drawer pull. I also found it at a flea market.

A tisket, a tasket, my kingdom for a basket. I never thought trying to find the right sized basket at a decent (cheap) price was going to be as challenging as it was, but after buying a couple different ones, that didn't quite fit the bill once I got them home, I finally found this one. It was perfect.

For the front of the basket, I wanted a small license plate with a red background, but those were quite pricey, & it turns out they're even more rare than the right sized basket! So, I settled for this white one with red lettering instead & it was $20 cheaper, yet still cost more than the basket.

I didn't really keep track of how long this project took me to do, because of trying to locate all the necessary bits & pieces. I just know I started on it in the summer doing all the painting. I didn't finish it until late October or early November, after going to all the different flea markets finding the rest of the stuff for it, & then getting everything attached.

It SOLD within 2 hours of posting it on my FB page. It went to a lucky husband for Christmas.

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4 of 17 comments

WebbRowan on Apr 11, 2016
That's looks like an exceptional job. It really has the look of an old automobile so that's kudos to your good eye! You'll probably save quite a lot of your finances with one of these in your garage too! Haha!

1 Reply
- Beth M on Apr 11, 2016
  @WebbRowan Thank you!! We did purchase a 1953 Chevy recently, but we're leaving it in it's kind of rusty & worn green vintage looking patina. I hope to find another cabinet in this style to make over another.
  
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Patsy on Jul 21, 2019

Oh my gosh how cute.

1 Reply
- Beth M on Jul 21, 2019
  
  Thank you!
  
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