So a couple years ago when I first got here I bought a nightstand on Craigslist for $5. $5 people. I bought it to use as a side table actually. And I did. But only for a short while. Then it’s been this extra piece of furniture laying around.

This is what it looked like when I first got it ::

I posted it here before – I painted it green. Which was nice. But to be honest, I ended up hating it. So after it sat in our garage forever (along with a sofa table still waiting for some attention) I decided to try again. This time I used a slightly different method than I’ve shared before.

1.) I sanded. As per usual.

2.) I primed (oil based primer-trust me, it’s the best) – using a cheap-o brush. I got sick of trying to clean my nice brushes – so I bought a $5 pack of 6 brushes.

3.) Here’s where I did things a bit differently. I added something called Flotrol. It just helps lengthen drying time a bit so you get a much smoother coat. You add it to the paint, and I loved the way it worked.

4.) I painted a thin coat of my latex paint with a high quality brush – I like Purdy. It doesn’t matter what level of gloss of paint I use because my protective coating is gonna give me the end finish. Then another coat until it’s well coated. Keepin’ it thin, so they don’t get goopy or brush strokes.

5.) After that dries nicely – it’s time to use a Polyurethane finish coat. I like it to be nice and glossy.

6.) Then I added new hardware and ta-dah! I’m done!

Here’s the finished piece ::

I’m probably going to try to sell this bad boy on Craigslist. I bought it when I had the perfect spot for it – now I don’t and while not huge, we have very little storage here.

Now on to the list of other pieces I want to do…