This little night stand was a bit out dated with the cream paint job and gold accents. I gave it a stylish makeover with one my furniture painting techniques- a fresh coat of white paint, some heavy sanding and a dark wood stain. The wood stain goes on after the sanding takes place and sticks inside the scratches that the heavy grit sand paper leaves. The stain also softens the bright white paint to give it more of an antiqued look. It now has an aged look with just the right amount on distressing.
The night stand was part of a bedroom set that also included a highboy dresser and a large six drawer dresser. Both dressers got a unique faux finish, by accident, but I really like they way they turned out.
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This dresser had a gorgeous coat of white paint on it; I always start by spraying the pieces with a primer and then the top coat. I sanded it really well, stained it with a dark wood oil to antique it and then something interesting happened. The drawers had this awful floral lining in them that screamed 1980’s. For the life of me I could not remove this terribly tacky paper, so in a desperate attempt to get ride of it I brought out a can of lacquer thinner and poured it into the drawer. In doing so I accidently dropped a bit of the harsh chemical on the freshly painted dresser. Oh noooo!! Oh… wait, that kinda looks cool. (BTW pouring lacquer thinner into the drawer was a really stupid move, I wouldn’t recommend it)
The accidental spill ended up crackling the paint in a really interesting way. I then decided to embrace this “mistake” and doused the whole entire piece with lacquer thinner. The dresser turned out fabulously. It really gave it an authentic aged look as if the dresser is over 100 years old.
When I was painting this dresser my spray gun was acting up and my patience was running really, really thin. The paint started running down the one side, so I grabbed a damp cloth and kind of dabbed it to remove the excess paint. When the piece dried the side didn’t get good coverage, big surprise. Instead of hooking up my spray gun, filling it with paint, spraying the dresser again and then having to go through the painful task of cleaning up after all that, I decided to just give it a light coat of paint with a brush. I used a different paint than I had started with thinking it would blend well enough since I was going to stain it and sand it anyways.
Once again I discovered a new painting technique. The place where I had brushed on a different white paint took the stain differently; much darker. Like the highboy dresser and my lacquer thinner mishap I again decided to embrace this one. I decided to brush the corners of all of the drawers, the top of the dresser along the edges and the opposite side to create the dark stain effect uniformly all over the piece. After adding the white paint I let it dry, sanded it, stained it and then sanded it again to get the look I was going for. I really think this one has an old world patina.
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16 Responses to Furniture painting, distressing & faux finishes
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Alchemy fine living is an antiques & home furnishings business located in Santa Ana, Ca. Alchemy can be defined as an inexplicable or mysterious transmuting power or process; transforming something common into something special.ABOUT ME
Alchemy fine living is my antiques & home furnishings business. I'm Deana, the author of this blog. My mom Connie & I followed our dreams & opened our store in 2008. It's a collection of all the things she & I truly love. We combine antiques with new treasures, as well as, a selection of handcrafted items created by the two of us. We also offer custom sewing, re-upholstery, & furniture painting services.
173 E City Place Dr.
Santa Ana, CA 92705CONNECT WITH ME
I love this set ! I have a small set that I am doing in black for my studio ! Love those french lines !
I love your makeover! My daughter had this set of bedroom furniture with her canopy bed when she was little. I would have never thought they could look so different. Great job!
Be a sweetie,
Shelia
Great job! How funny you discovered these techniques by accident. Enjoy!
The furniture turned out really great! It’s amazing how sometimes an accident turns out to be the best thing ever.
I salute how your rolled with the punches. I like these curvy pieces.
Your mistakes turned out very pretty! I love the look of the entire set. I have one nightstand that is identical, dresser and desk as well. I’ll be making those over very very soon. LOL.
What a beautiful transformation. I love to see things reused and repurposed. You did a fantastic job. Hugs, marty
My grandmother had a set of this old French provencial look furniture. I love the way you have updated. Your mistakes give me courage to try–I won’t be so afraid of mistakes! It turned out beautifully.
I had this same white furniture as a child and our daughter then used it. I would have never given it away had I know I could turn it in to something so beautiful! Your mishaps turned beautifully in the end!
Kat
How great that mistakes turned out to be a happy result. The piecies look great!
It’s amazing how mistakes can turn out to be blessings in disguise! All the pieces look wonderful … great job on the fresh looks!
Love these redos! I wish I could find such pieces for our mother-in-law sweet!
LOVE IT! Looks fantastic! I’m working on a bathroom reno – hope you can stop by and give it a look!
Artie
I am thinking about painting and distressing my dining room table and chairs. Do I need to sand it first? I am painting it black, how many layers do I need to put on? Once I have painted it, do I sand it next? Is there another step after the sanding process?
Thanks
I really like this dresser. One of my favorite things is giving new life to old pieces of furniture.
Just a quick note to tell you that your post made my day – have been looking for this type of info. Cheers!