Nightstand Makeover

6 Materials
$100
6 Hours
Medium

We love our neighbors! From time to time our neighbors offer us furniture they would otherwise put on the curb so imagine our excitement when they offered us these. They aren't much to look at, but they had good bones so knew they could be saved.

They looked rather beat up and worn down but surprisingly they weren't that bad to prep. We started by cleaning with some krud kutter and rinsing thoroughly. Then we sanded down to the original base using 80/120/150 and then started filling holes.

We used plastic wood in Golden oak to fill the holes and let it dry. We then lightly sanded it down using 220 - yes the plastic wood is that easy to work with!

Then we turned to our favorite sander, the 3 x 4 electric ray Surfprep and did a quick final sand using a medium grit and wiped it down using an oil free tack cloth.

After all that, we decided it was too plain and took out some Dry Dex spackle and gave these nightstands some texture. We then let it dry and painted in a beautiful color called Nightfall by Country Chic paint. You can use code AMINI10 to save on your order.

It still wasn't happy enough so we added a few more colors to brighten it up and a happy rainbow to make these unique and one of a kind. We then sealed these in General Finishes High Performance in Satin and added Crystal knobs.

Finally, they look complete!

Resources for this project:
See all materials
Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
Hometalk may collect a small share of sales from the links on this page.More info
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
3 of 6 questions
  • Mary Lou Mary Lou on Jan 23, 2021

    Why sand if you are gonna add spackle?? Rainbow doesn't feel right with these pieces... Love the green!

  • Char Char on Jan 18, 2023

    Does the wax have to be reapplied on a periodic basis to continue protecting the paint? Also, what is the best product to use for cleaning pieces that are waxed? Thank you. The pieces turned out pretty.

  • R.C. Leach R.C. Leach on Jan 18, 2023

    I like everything about it. I think you did a great job, and I like the rainbow too! I also saw another whole page of your projects, and they all looked beautiful too! Don't pay any attention to the nay-sayers...Have you noticed that they aren't showing off any of THEIR talents?

Comments
Join the conversation
5 of 13 comments
  • Katen Katen on Jan 18, 2023

    YEARS ago had similar nightstand with finish peeling off. It weighed a ton. Came from grandparents. So with minimal effort stripped to bare wood. Not a clue what to do. Friend did lots of refinishing work. Asked him. Saw piece and offered me $200 cash. Turned out it was solid mahogany, found manufacturer’s date (1870’s as I recall). Modest style that would work in todays home and back then. Point? Make sure you know what you have before you start “up cycling”. Weight sometimes is tell tale indication, was for me. $200 was Manna for person making $2.10 an hour back then

    • See 1 previous
    • Amini Design Ashburn Amini Design Ashburn on Jan 19, 2023

      This was not valuable - and was not solid wood. I always check.

  • MJ MJ on Jan 18, 2023

    Hope you're still following this for questions, since it was posted a year ago . . .

    I LOVE the textured look with the beautiful Nightfall color, especially after you added some dimension with other colors subtly blended in . . . what type of paint and technique did you use to add the other color highlights? It's stunning!!


    [Sorry, not a fan of the rainbow on this particular project, mainly because it distracts from the fantastic effect you got on the rest of the surfaces.]

Next