Nightstand Makeover with Paint

Sharing is caring!

I have been on the search for two used nightstands for months. I found them at a thrift store and did a nightstand makeover with paint from Benjamin Moore.

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. View full disclosure policy.

While I was shopping at one of my favorite thrift stores, I saw these two nightstands. They are large and heavy. The nightstands are solid wood and have the name of the furniture company that made them. The furniture was made in the 1960s. As you can see in the photo, the nightstands are in very good condition except for a scratch on one nightstand. No worries because I know that a scratch is fixable.

Painting these nightstands was easy and only took me a few hours of prep and painting.

Paint

Let’s talk about furniture paint. I have been repainting furniture for over 25 years.   A lot of people ask me what paint I like to use to repaint furniture and I have two favorites. There are a lot of great paints to paint furniture with and it can be overwhelming to choose one. If I do all the work to prepare a piece of furniture to paint, I want the paint to last. I also want the furniture to look good after I paint it. To be honest, I want my repainted furniture to look like I purchased it brand new. A messy paint job can make your piece look like junk.

What I look for in paint

My desire is to do as little sanding as possible. I use to prime the furniture with a primer like Kilz. One paint that I love to use is Fusion Mineral Paint. It has paint, primer, and sealer all in one jar of paint. It works wonderfully. The downside of using Fusion, is you have to go to a retailer near you. You can find it on Amazon but you have to have it delivered. Also, Fusion paint comes already mixed and in certain colors. You have to use the colors in their paint line.

• Foundation to Finish All In One!
• Easy to apply and self-leveling, Fusion requires minimal prep work No finishing coat, waxing or on-going maintenance!

Benjamin Moore Advance Paint

Advance Paint is a winner for me. I have painted all the cabinets in my home with Advance Paint. It has lasted for years without chips and scratches.  The only downside is that it takes 16 hours for the paint to cure or harder. That means after painting the first coat of Advance paint you have to wait at least 16 hours before applying a second coat. This is not a problem for me at all because I think it is important for the paint to fully dry and cure before adding more paint. The most important thing to me is for my paint job not to chip and scratch.  I usually put a sealer only on the top of nightstands because they take a beating. I always use Polyacrylic from Minwax. It does not turn your paint job yellow like some sealers.

Supplies

Advance Paint

4 inch Foam Roller and Handle I try to roll what I can on furniture and use a brush for grooves and places that a roller can not cover well.

Sanding Block

Tack Cloth or Damp Cloth

Sealer or Top Coat With Advance paint a sealer or topcoat is not required. More information on sealing below.

Clean furniture well before sanding.

Sand furniture with a fine sanding block. I used 120 grit sanding block. The great thing about painting with Advance paint is that you do not have to sand the furniture to the bare wood.

Clean furniture with a tack cloth or a damp cloth. This is one of the most important steps in painting furniture. Make sure there is no dust or dirt on the furniture before painting. Dust or dirt in your paint will ruin your smooth coat of paint.

 

Roll and brush the first coat of paint on the furniture. Do not worry about getting complete coverage with the first coat. It is okay if some of the wood is seen through the paint. The second coat will give you better coverage.

Use a small paintbrush to get into small spaces.

First coat completed.

Let the first coat dry for over 16 hours or overnight.

Repairing the scratch

There is a big scratch on the top of the nightstand. The scratch has taken off some of the wood. I thought that the Advance paint would fill in the scratch because it is a self-leveling paint. It did not fill in the scratch so I patched the scratch with wood filler.

I sanded wood filler with a 120 grit sanding block.

Paint the Second Coat

Paint the second coat and let dry for at least 16 hours.

Sealer

With Advance paint, you do not need to seal the painted furniture and I usually don’t. For a nightstand or bedside table, I would always use a sealer only on the top of the furniture. Nightstands beside the bed get so much wear and I do not want to get any chips or scratches. I know that we scoot the lamps over closer to use when reading. The weather radio is constantly being dragged closer to cut it off. It is better to be safe with a sealer on the top. I always use this sealer.

Add or Clean Furniture Hardware

My first thought was to add new long drawer pulls to the furniture. This would involve patching and drilling new holes on the drawers for new hardware. I decided to try to clean the original drawer pulls with Bar Keepers.

Bar Keepers worked amazingly. I am in shock. The newly cleaned drawer pulls may turn and patina again but that is okay with me.

The nightstand makeover looks beautiful. I feel like these nightstands came from a high-end store. Plus I saved my family a lot of money by not giving up and searching for some second-hand nightstands to makeover.

My Other Furniture Makeovers You May Like

DIY Faux Concrete Console Table

Dresser Makeover with Shutters