How to Update Vintage Furniture by Adding Legs - Before and After

by Natalie

I honestly planned to give them fresh coat of paint and replace the hardware. That was it. But after stalking an amazing blog I realized I needed to give these a bigger makeover.

how to update vintage furniture by adding legs before and after, how to, painted furniture

We grabbed some furniture legs that have slowly started accumulating in the garage and some leftover plywood from another project. I am all about getting a good deal all the way around and using what we have on hand. The back legs and leg plates were also leftover from another project.

To get started we flipped the nightstand upside down so it was sitting on it's top. We measured the length and width of the bottom and took an inch off of each of those measurements. Then using 1" thick plywood we cut out a new base for each night stand. We made sure to sand all of the edges so we wouldn't get any splinters while working with the wood.

Next we measured out where we wanted to put the front and back legs and drilled pilot holes in each of those places. For the back legs we used a 1/16" drill bit and pre-drilled holes into the back legs as well and the plywood. For the front legs we used a 1/4" drill bit that was the same size as the screw on each of the front legs. Then we placed a leg brace over the hole and pre-drilled the four corners where we screwed it onto the new plywood base.

To attach the back legs we flipped the plywood over and screwed a 2 1/2" screw through the plywood and into the leg. We made sure it lined up straight before tightening it completely. Once all of the legs we attached, we nailed the plywood base to the nightstand with 1 3/4" brad nails and a nail gun.

That's all there is to it! Easy peasy lemon squeezy compared to other methods of adding legs. Now each of the night stands have an updated high end look while getting a few more inches of height.