A Pair of White Painted Nightstands

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A pair of white painted nightstands can be the perfect accent to many decorating styles. With the right tools, you can take thrifted nightstands and turn them into fresh, farmhouse or cottage style decor. 

Follow along to see how I transformed these nightstands and how you can do the same with any old furniture pieces you may have!

Painted Nightstand Makeover

Awhile back a friend contacted me and said her aunt was looking to get rid of some furniture.  That’s always news I’m excited to hear!

She had a full set of vintage Drexel furniture, I believe this is the Francesa line.  Sadly, all of the pieces had a little damage, which means they couldn’t be resold as-is. 

I didn’t have room in my booth for the bigger pieces, but I decided to take this pair of nightstands with me.  Nightstand pairs are difficult to find, and they always sell well for me in my booth.

Despite their damage, these are solid furniture pieces that I knew would be beautiful again with a little paint, 

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What is the Best Paint for Nightstands?

In general, my favorite paint to work with when painting furniture is Fusion Mineral Paint. It delivers for me a smooth, durable finish every time.

For this project, I wanted to use a white, but not one that is super bright. An off white with a bit of gray is what I was looking for.

Good thing Fusion has a huge selection of whites to choose from!

I settled on Chateau, which is one of their darkest whites. 

I realize in this photo, it looks kind of taupey-tan.  But once it’s on a piece of furniture, it still definitely reads white. 

It’s really a great option for a neutral off-white that isn’t very yellow. 

Would you like to try Fusion Mineral Paint for your next furniture project?

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Supplies for Dresser Makeover

• TSP Alternative Degreasing Cleaner
• Fusion Mineral Paint Odorless Solvent
• Dobie Sponges
• Blue Shop Towels
• Wood Putty and Putty Knife
• 80 to 220 grit sandpaper 
• Good quality synthetic bristle paint brush
• Fusion Mineral Paint Chateau

I participate in the Amazon Affiliate and Fusion Mineral Paint Affiliate program, and will receive a small commission off purchases made through these links.  Read my full disclosure here. 

Full Tutorial Nightstands Makeover

There was some work to be done before I could start painting these nightstands.

First, the damaged spots needed to be dealt with. 

And second, they needed a good cleaning.

RELATED POST: Why You Should Clean your Furniture Before you Paint It

To fixed the spots where the veneer had pulled off, I sanded those areas smooth with some course (80 grit) sandpaper, then applied a thin coat of wood putty to fill in any cracks.

Once the wood putty was dry, I sanded that with fine grit sandpaper (220) to smooth it out completely.

I also sanded smooth the corners and any other places where the finish was rough or there were cracks in the veneer.

After dealing with the damage, it was time to clean these pieces well. 

I started first by wiping them off with an Odorless Solvent.

There were some areas of sticky residue scattered across the whole body of these nightstands, almost like someone had spilled a sugary drink and never really cleaned it all the way up. 

The Odorless Solvent takes care of any real heavy residue like that, also things like wax or furniture polish buildup.

The last cleaning step was to wipe down each nightstand again, this time with my TSP Alternative Degreaser. 

Seriously, this is one of my most favorite products for furniture painters! It is non-toxic and does a fantastic job cleaning off grease and other oily residue so your furniture is squeaky clean and ready to paint.

I just sprayed down the entire nightstand, then used the shop towels to wipe off all the residue from the Odorless Solvent and any other general dirt. It’s really that easy! 

The last prep step was to give the entire piece a very quick and light sanding with a 180 grit sandpaper. This just helps open up the pores of the existing finish so your paint sticks bit better.

RELATED POST: Funiture Flipping Prep 101: When to Sand Furniture

Should I use a Primer as a Basecoat?

I usually don’t use a primer when I paint with Fusion. It’s not required to have your paint stick, unless you’re painting something that is not actual wood (think IKEA laminate stuff).

But when I paint dark wood pieces with a white paint color, I like to use a basecoat of a white primer. This helps covers up a bit of the dark wood and usually saves me at least 1 coat of my more expensive paint.

Here is one of the nightstands with a coat of primer.  Don’t worry, it always looks this terrible! Once your paint goes on, it will look much better 🙂

After the primer was dry (I checked the recommended time on the specific kind I used), I started painting on the Fusion Chateau. This is one coat, and we’re already looking better!

It took 2 coats of the Chateau to get a smooth, full coverage. I let each coat dry 2-3 hours before applying the next one.

Tips for Getting a Smooth Finish with Fusion Mineral Paint

I wanted these nightstands to have a clean, modern finish. 

The best way to get that look with Fusion is to paint thin coats.  Even if is takes one extra coat to get full coverage, thin coats are going to dry better and look better.

For the tops of dressers or other large, flat areas, you can use a roller. That also helps take care of brush stroke problems.

My last tip though is to really invest in a nice brush. A good-quality brush with thin, synthetic bristles can make all the difference in how smooth your final coat of paint looks. 

Check out my video that compares all the different whites Fusion Mineral Paint offers!

Finished White Painted Nightstands

I let the final coat of paint dry for 2 weeks (to help cure and harden), then took them up to my booth space.

I can tell you they sold quickly!

And you can see how the Chateau definitely still looks white, it’s just not super bright.

Had these nightstands not been damaged, they may have sold well without being painted.  However the torn veneer wasn’t salvageable, so I used paint to freshen them up.

I think the white look is clean, modern, and goes with so many different styles!

If you enjoyed this post!  Here are MORE painted nightstand ideas!

How to Strip Furniture {Nightstand Makeover}

Metallic French Provincial Nightstand Makeover

Inglenook Painted Nightstand Makeover

Layered Metallic Mirror Finish Nightstand

Thanks for joining me today!