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How to Repair and Revive a Tired NightStand

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I’m trying to put the finishing touches on my daughters bedroom and also refresh some of the furniture I bought up from – yes – the basement. Keep reading to see how I painted an old nightstand and gave it a fresh nightstand makeover.

Finished nightstand makeover with paint, wood filler, metallic paint and contact paper.

This tired looking nightstand had once belonged to my dad but lately it had just been taking up space. I thought it would make a nice addition to the girl’s room. After all we can always use extra storage space! But first it needed to be repaired and revived and get a nightstand makeover.

Before the nightstand makeover, the nightstand is yellowing and knobs are colorful.

Unfortunately, it had quite a few issues. First of all, there was the color, which was far from a crispy, clean white but more like a cream that had gone sour. If you have followed me on this journey so far, you will recall that I had wanted a nice clean look for the room. 

Also, those colored knobs stood out like a sore thumb. Then there was the peeling paint.

Chipped blue drawer knob.

And lastly, we had a nice big crack on one side, which I hadn’t even noticed till I got this thing upstairs.  I guess you could say I had my work cut out for me for this nightstand makeover.

Cracked side of side table.

What I Used for my Nightstand Makeover

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Nightstand Makeover How-To

I decided to make quick work out of this one and started off with my favorite paint the Satin Enamel Paint from DecoArt. I keep on using the DecoArt Enamil paint in white because it goes on easily and the best part – there is no top coat needed. Two coats was all it needed. 

You can actually see the difference between the crisp white paint and the yellow on the left side of the nightstand.

Start of the nightstand makeover, white painted front.

For the crack I used the wood reclaim. I applied it and then just let it dry and repeated until it had filled in all the cracks. I also sanded between coats. I had previously used this on a bigger mess on my Mid-Century China Cabinet

Adding wood reclaim to the cracked side of nightstand.

Then I went about removing all the color from this table. The knobs were painted with a Metallic black pearl color. Originally we had planned to use the same color we used on these bed frames but my girl felt it was too shiny so we went with a solid black and no metallic overtones. 

For the side table, we could afford to have some bling. There is nothing wrong with color, but it would have ruined the look of the room. 

Painted knob.

 And since I had the paint out already I started to just add dry brush strokes on the top.  This was on top of the satin finish paint I had already used.

Painted top of nightstand in metallic pearl black.

​You can see here how rough and “edgy” it looks in black.  If it was brown it would look like wood, but here we are going to call it edgy!  “wink”

And finally because I wanted to protect that tabletop I added a varnish to finish it off. Let me clarify, if I had just gone with the satin finish paint I wouldn’t have needed a topcoat, as I said before it doesn’t need one.  But since I added the metallic paint on top, I didn’t want to risk it. 

I used a matte finish because I was in a rush to get this finished.  If I had wanted to go shiny,  I would have gone with the DuraClear High Gloss Finish.

Close up of DecoArt metallic black acrylic paint.

 You can see how I used feathered brush strokes along the edges of the table top. 

Ends of nightstand top with feathery brushstrokes.

​And for the WOW factor? I added some contact paper on the outer sides of the drawers.  Yes, it is the same one that covers all those storage boxes. 

Adding toile contact paper on sides of drawers for the nightstand makeover.

Isn’t she a beauty?

Angled view of finished nightstand makeover.

​The brushstrokes have an almost rustic quality to them. 

Brushstrokes on top of night stand.

The pretty toile flowers also soften the black and white look, which my girls love so much.

Side view of nightstand drawers with toile contact paper.
Finished nightstand makeover with paint, wood filler, metallic paint and contact paper.

Here she is in her rightful place in the room, between the ombre wall and the bed. I do believe that the color of the top mimics the pebbles in the painting. That painting is staying here for now since it is a gift to the daughter who loves blue.  

Finished nightstand makeover next to a bed and decorated with a painting.

 I am so happy with how this nightstand makeover turned out. It is no longer tired looking. And it also has a few secrets hiding on the side. I think my decision to go with the metallic black paint has really done it justice. Don’t you agree?  

Picture
Finished nightstand makeover with paint, wood filler, metallic paint and contact paper and text overlay.

The Black and White Bedroom

This month I have been feverishly working on the girl’s bedroom. Check out all the projects I’ve done in this room, you can see them all together.

Ombre wall with white closet door.
Decorating Plans for the Girl’s Bedroom
Lamps painted in black and white.
Lamp Makeover
Black metal bedframe
Bedframe Refresh
Oval Mirror painted black
Mirror Makeover
Dresser makeover
Cinderella Dresser Makeover
Dresser with lamp and painting
Tour of Black & White Bedroom

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How To Restore a Campaign Dresser - The Boondocks Blog

Monday 20th of April 2020

[…] on the edges of the dresser was painted using the metallic black pearl that I had also used on the night stand. I used both looks for the hardware because I wanted to keep it interesting.  Also, a bit of black […]

Debrashoppeno5

Thursday 12th of April 2018

This turned out so lovely. Everything came together to create a wonderful storage piece.

Mary

Monday 16th of April 2018

Debra I had no idea I was going to go in this direction with the top till the last minute.

Doreen@foxdenrd

Thursday 12th of April 2018

Sometimes we don’t even realize how yellow a white piece actually is until we compare it to a true white. And look at what a difference it can make! I’m intrigued by the wood reclaim. I’ve never used it but just knowing it’s out there is comforting :). I saw a beautiful armoire a couple of weeks ago that I was tempted to get but it had a big crack on the side so I passed it by. Actually, it was too big but that’s beside the point lol.) Great job Mary! xxx

Mary

Monday 16th of April 2018

Haha, mine was pretty big too but I managed to camouflage it pretty well. Doreen wait till you see the next dresser it had both yellow and white in one piece of furniture. I am really working hard to banish that yellow.

Josephine

Thursday 12th of April 2018

Oh Mary, the nightstand is outstanding. When I first saw the night stand, I thought to myself "I hope she does something sweet to drawer sides." What you did was not sweet, it is incredible! I think this may be my favorite project of yours. I too have some tired furniture to redo. There are just so many ideas out in Pinterest land, that I just cant decide which to do. Since I'm using a beautiful toile for the duvet and roman shades, etc, I think I will wait until I finish the fabric work, then decide what to do with the other furniture, toile can be a bit over-powering

Mary

Monday 16th of April 2018

Thank you so much Josephine for your kind comment. I agree with you, do the fabric first and then you can always add something simple to the furniture, maybe stripes or dots?. I went with black and white which is basic so I could afford to play up the other elements.

Marie-The Interior Frugalista

Thursday 12th of April 2018

What a difference you made to this nightstand, Mary! Love the surprise pop of pretty paper on the sides too. Pinned :) It sounds like the apple didn't fall too far from the tree. Your basement in Greece sounds rather similar to your father's in New York. *wink* *wink* Which is great for us because we get to see the goodies you unearth and work your magic on. Keep them coming!

Mary

Monday 16th of April 2018

Marie it is so true, my dad has so much furniture and even kitchen cabinets which have got my wheels spinning for repurposes. I have my work cut out for me ;)

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