Wednesday, March 24, 2010

My orange nightstand/end table

**Edited to join the Thrifty Decor Chicks Before and After Party.**

Well, I got home safe and sound a week ago and I'm working hard on getting my loft "re"done. I bought this cute nightstand back in the fall with the intention of turning it into a toy kitchen for my kids for Christmas (I got that idea from this talented lady). Our house closing and moving and everything involved in that put off that project. When I decided on what I wanted to do in our loft, I wanted an end table next the couch (that we don't have yet) and this is what I had on hand.

My before. It's the only picture I have for some reason, and I got it off the craigslist post.
I spray primed it and painted the inside of the cabinet and drawer yellow.
I originally chose orange for my nightstand because I have a TON of yellow paint and a lot of red paint leftover from painting my laundry room. This picture (below) is pre-mixing. I've got a lot to learn about mixing different colors of latex paint, because yellow and red make pink - and a very pretty bubble gum pale pink it is! I tried twice and mixing other colors/shades of yellow in with it but no such luck. It was still PINK. That's when I gave up and bought two cans of orange spray paint.

Here is my lovely orange nightstand. I thought the orange was a bit overbearing at first, but I knew that glazing it would tone it down a bit. I'd already glazed the doors and was about to start the drawer for this picture.


Here's another shot during my glazing step. I turned the nightstand over to glaze the feet first then flipped upright to do the rest.
And here it is all finished! It took me a bit to get the hinges back on and I had to replace a few stripped screws but I LOVE it! The black glaze I used really highlights the wood grain on this piece and makes the orange just a bit muted. LOVE IT!
I got the idea of glazing it with black from these talented ladies. LOVE their stuff!

Some things I learned about glazing: I bought a quart of the Ralph Lauren glaze and had them tint it black for me. This stuff will go a LOOOONG way. I probably didn't need to get that much. You can get smaller bottles of glaze and tint it yourself at a craft store. You paint it on and then wipe it off, but if you only want to leave a hint of glaze (like I did) then you need to wipe it off with a damp cloth, too.

It's still in my garage drying, but I'll show you what it looks like in the loft when I'm all done! Next up, I'll be stripping this buffet and painting it green with a black glaze. We'll be using it as a TV console in our loft. Can't wait!

3 comments:

rebecca @ older and wisor said...

I've never used orange before...and after seeing that nightstand I'm wondering why not! That looks fabulous!

Unknown said...

Wow, that is CUTE! My daughter wants her room pink and orange, and I never thought to tie in the colors by painting her furniture. Awesome job!

Kelli Brewer said...

The color is a little bold for me but I love how it turned out!

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