Brighten up Your Bedroom!

by Ali Renippe

4 Materials

$50

20 Hours

Medium

Do you own those old mohagany nighstands that were so chic in the 2000's? You might find them a bit too dark now, and I've got the right project for you to brighten up your bedroom without breaking the bank!

I saw those two beautiful nightstands on a Facebook group, and I got in my car right away to make sure I'd be the lucky one to pick them up!

They were a bit dark to my liking, and the hardware was outdated, but I knew I could transform them into soft and luminous beauties.

First, I used a stripper and a scraper to remove that dark (and SUPER THICK) old finish on the top and drawers.

I used Circa 1850 Furniture Stripper this time, but I just discovered Stripwell's eco-friendly, biodegradable, non-flammable, and non-hazardous stripper and I'm absolutely obsessed. On top of being all those things I just named, it works wonders (I'm not sponsored I swear).

Back to the main subject! I then sanded the top and drawers using my Dewalt orbital sander with 120 grit sanding paper to get rid of those remaining red tones.

I also scuff sanded the frame and sides with 220 grit sanding paper to make sure the paint would stick.

I prepared a custom mix of Fusion Mineral Paint colors to create a green-ish wash, to make sure I get rid of the red understones. Ratio of paint/water is approximately 1/5.

I applied that mix on the drawers and tops and wiped with a clean rug immediately after. I work in small sections to avoid streaks.

For the rest of the frame, I also used a custom mix of paint colors to create a soft minty green and applied it with my favorite Staalmeester round brush.

And finally, I applied ArtAlchemy Vintage Gold Metallic Wax on the trims and sealed the whole thing with Behr's matte water based Polyurethane top coat.