New Life for a Nightstand

When I got divorced I left pretty much every piece of furniture I had with my husband but the one thing I insisted on taking was my bedroom set. My grandmother gave it to me so it had sentimental value and was the one thing I felt I owned outright. It was made of solid wood with walnut veneer and included a full sized bed with side rails, chest of drawers, vanity with a large mirror and a night stand. Over the years each piece slowly deteriorated and one by one I discarded or gave them away. The set was fairly old already when she got them so I figure they had a good life.


The one piece I still have is the nightstand. I don't know if I held on to it because of nostalgia or because it was still in good shape, but I have never been able to part with it. Water marks, coffee spills, nicks and cracks from being moved from place to place has taken it's toll so to bring it back to life I decided to paint it. My bedroom is mostly neutral with taupe, beige and gray so I decided to stay with that palette and paint it white. 


To start I cleaned all the gunk off the top. Gunk is a technical term for any sticky residue that has been lazily left to harden on a surface and eventually becomes impossible to clean. Next I sanded it smooth to remove the water marks and used a cloth to wipe away the dust making sure to clean the grooves around the top and on the door. The sides, doors and drawers were also sanded to remove the varnish so that the paint will stick to the wood. Last I removed all the hardware to make it easier to paint. I kept the knobs as always because you never know where else you can use them. 

You can use spray paint or any can of glossy paint but I prefer to work with spray paint which I find works best for small pieces like this. I sprayed two coats of primer followed by two coats of white spray paint. 




There are many different whites but one of my favorites is Heirloom white by Rust-oleum. It's a pretty warm shade that doesn't have too much yellow in it. Ivory is also very nice. It's just a matter of personal taste. I finished with a good spray of high gloss top coat. To finish I replaced the wood knobs with more contemporary glass which were left behind by the previous owners of my house. 

 Here she is. Shiny and new and better than she was before.