Before/After: Nightstands

I think most people would agree that moving into a new home (and out of an old one!) is one of the most stressful activities around.  The packing and unpacking, purging and storing decision making is a lot to take on.  But the one thing that makes all that backbreaking work worth it?  

Decorating!  

Decorating a new home is so much fun.  I've been loving the process - looking at pieces we've had for awhile, determining how to use them in different ways.  Should we donate to Goodwill? Or paint this a new color? Something bright and risky and fun? Or perhaps we play it safe and leave it as is?  The options are endless, bound only by how creative I can be...or by how inspiring Pinterest is!

As a result, I've been on a spray paint kick for the past few weeks.  And while my hands are temporarily dyed winter gray, hunter green, and primer white...the results have been worth it.  We've been needing nightstands for...oh several years now :>)  I've used mismatched side tables for much too long, so finding 2 matching nightstands has been a priority for me.  Our bed is fairly feminine with it's curvy shape and tufting.  We also recently purchased a new dresser from the flea market.  It's a distressed cream color and has an antique feel to it.  I knew I wanted the nightstands to add a contemporary layer to help balance out the other elements in the room.  

Brand new nightstands are not in the budget at the moment, so I've been searching flea markets and thrift stores high and low, keeping an open mind toward color and finish.  As long as the shape fit my modern parameters, they were in the running!  And the winners are....

Gorgeous, right? Ha! Oh these cuties needed a lot of love, but at $20 a piece at the Salvation Army store, I couldn't leave 'em behind.  And fortunately, they weren't hard to doll up...see below for the step by step process:

1:  Wash completely.  Inside, outside, take the drawers out, and clean clean clean.

2:  Remove hardware.

3:  Sand off unidentified sticky residue (I don't want to know.)

4:  Prime with Zinsser Cover Stain Primer Spray Paint (it's the best.  No need to sand or remove previous stains - it literally covers everything).

5:  Spray with color of your choice - I used Rustoleum's Dark Gray in Gloss Finish.  Buy at Lowes, Home Depot, Amazon.

6:  Seal with Minwax Water Based Polycrylic Protective Finish in Clear Gloss using a foam brush.  

7:  Reattach hardware.

I LOVE how they turned out!

What do we think?!  Have a fabulous and stylish Thursday!

xo,

Kate


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