Unicorn Nightstand Makeover
I have painted many pieces of furniture in my time and I try to keep things exciting and fresh but it's not always easy. I had a pair of French Provincial nightstands in need of a makeover and went in with no plan whatsoever and just decided to have fun and experiment a little with these.
I started by giving them a good sanding, especially on the tops where the finish was loose and flaking.
Since I sanded down to the raw wood I decided to give the tops a coat of spray shellac to prevent any bleed through. This isn't always necessary but in my experience it's fairly common to get bleed through from painting raw wood and I wanted to be proactive with these. If you don't start with shellac and notice bleed through after your first coat of paint, you can always treat those areas with shellac and then continue painting.
Next, I sprayed the entire pieces using a clay based paint that I watered down. I use a hvlp sprayer.
From there I decided to just play around with dry brushing different colors. I also always keep a fine mister bottle handy if I want to blend certain areas or make a certain color drip. It's so fun to just let loose and play once in a while!
A little more color...
After adding some color I decided it needed some gold. I started of by brushing this in a few places but it just wasn't creating enough of an impact for me.
So, I moved on to gold spray paint! I know a lot of people frown upon using spray paint on furniture but there really don't have to be any rules as long as you're happy with the end result!
Instead of spraying directly on to my dry piece, I like to mix it up and use the spray paint AND water mister at the same time. Spray paint and water obviously don't mix so this allows the spray paint to separate and drip in a way that adds a ton of texture and interest!
Almost done!
I finished the look off by cleaning the handles and then spraying them gold as well. I also used a water-based polyurethane as a top coat.. What do you think?
I was a little worried that this look might not be well received but they ended up selling rather quickly! Thanks for following along and I hope this inspires you to have fun and play around with some paint! Check out my Instagram for more fun makeovers! Instagram.com/beautymark_furniture
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Gorgeous! Great job!
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reminds me of a unicorn
Frequently asked questions
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Can you mix shellac with a poly sealer? I thought you might need to use an oil paint.