I actually painted these cute little nightstands before the Emerald/Green 9-Drawer, but I was so excited to post about that one (I love the way it looks!) I posted that one first. These little guys are solid wood and were in great shape when I picked them up.
I went back and forth about what I wanted to do with them. I knew I wanted a two-toned, but I couldn't figure out what to leave wood and what to paint (off)white. In the end I kept it simple. I refinished the tops and painted the rest of the piece in white.
First I stripped back the tops and sanded the body and smoothed everything out. I then taped off the underside of the top piece and stained it using a dark walnut / light walnut combo. After the stain had a chance to dry I primed everything using Zinsser BIN as I was worried about bleedthrough. I used three coats of my Dulux in an off-white, and finished with a few protective coats of polyacrylic.
Easy peasy, this was a really great small project which I did straight after the China Cabinet that almost did me in (read about it here). Sometimes after you finish a mammoth piece you really need to cool your heels and do something small and textbook.
I filled the holes from the old hardware, and opted to use these contemporary looking gold pulls instead which I have used before (here) and (here). I think they give the piece a nice and chic feel. I also love the way the wood grain looks with the new finish.
And Voila! Another two-toned mcm. This piece was awesome, I loved the wood pulls that stick out at both the top and the bottom of each drawer, it doesn't come out well in the pics, but in real life they add some great visual interest.
The piece itself was in really good shape. There were a few dings and nicks in the top and sides of the unit, so after sanding back, I filled with two coats of wood filler, sanding well after each to smooth things out. That took care of the problem and she looked good as new!
After cleaning off the sanding dust I primed the entire body of the dresser with 2 coats of GRIPPER. I only started using this primer recently and I really love it. It gives fantastic coverage and has awesome adhesion. I didn't sand back to the bare wood on this one, just a good deglossing, so fortunately I didnt need to whip out the Zinsser BIN for bleed through.
The drawer facings were in great condition and they have a wonderful colour that features warm amber/reddish tones, so I just gave them a good clean and left them original.
I considered staining the legs, but opted to paint the out instead to create a sense of airiness under the dresser. I then painted with my Dulux Diamond in Pearl (2 coats) which I custom tinted to a creamy off-white.
She turned out great and was definitely worth the drive to pick up!
