62 TORNADO PLACE: Did it Ourselves: New Nightstand!

This is my first piece of furniture to revamp. Thanks to Miss Pinterest, I found a TUTORIAL on Censational Girl's blog and I followed it EXACTLY. I'll hit the high points here for you, but if this is a project you want to do, she will lead you on the path of painting righteousness.

I picked up this nightstand for $25 at an antique store, and it is a solid wood piece. Mind you, this is a tutorial for PAINTING furniture, not STAINING it. I wanted something more eclectic than a traditional wood stain, so I knew painting was the way to go. You don't actually have to sand your furniture to do this (another reason I didn't want to do a stain), just clean it really good and if you feel like you MUST do some sort of sanding, just grab a piece of whatever you have laying around and go over it lightly. Just remember to clean all the sand-dust off before you prime.

CG says in the TUTORIAL that the right bonding primer is the key - and she is RIGHT about that. She recommends an oil-based Zinsser cover stain and I second that completely.

You can get this stuff at Lowe's or Home Depot. It also comes in a spray version, which is what I got for this project because it's a pretty small piece, and I was really worried about being able to see brush strokes. I did 2 coats of primer on mine. I was nervous when I finished because it didn't look like it covered really well on the bottom shelf, but it turned out fine (especially if you plan on glazing it or distressing it at the end).

After this it's pretty much easy painting. CG says in the TUTORIAL to paint by hand (not spray, unless you have a professional paint sprayer). Get any interior paint you like at Lowes or Home Depot (I like the Behr brand at HD the best), and get a really good brush. Note - it doesn't really matter what finish your paint has because you're going to polyurethane it at the end, and THAT is the shine you'll end up seeing. So it's fine to get the less expensive flat paint!

CG also turned me onto something called Floetrol, a product you mix with your paint to slow drying time and eliminate brush strokes (can also be found at Lowes or HD).

Floetrol is for latex paint, and there's an oil-based paint equivalent called Penetrol that does the same thing. It is a wonderful product and does absolutely everything it claims to do. I will use it on every brush-painting project I do from now on.

Paint your two coats (allow for drying time), and then get ready to glaze! CG has some links on her page for some good glaze tutorials. For mine, I bought a paint sample (you don't need very much actual paint) in brown and a quart of the glaze base (again also bought Behr brand), mixed the two together and followed the instructions on the glaze. It is seriously idiot-proof, you can't mess it up.

Let that dry overnight and then ALWAYS make sure to use polyurethane to protect your project. CG also turned me on to Minwax Water-Based Polycrylic. Buy it in a quart and it'll go a long way. This is also where you select the amount of shine you want. I didn't want my piece to be super glossy because it's kind of rustic, so I went with a satin finish.