There was nothing "wrong" with it {well, except for a dusty bottom shelf...ahem}, but it didn't particularly match anything in our room. Plus, I keep trying to add more color in there...the walls are brown, the comforter is white, and our furniture is all wood. A while ago, I decided to add some turquoise, so I made a pillow, and I also made some fun valances and a monogram canvas that helped bring some color in. I thought this would be the perfect project; I could paint and stencil it and give it a whole new look! Here's the e-conversation hubby and I had on Thursday morning.
Me: "What would you think about me painting/stenciling your night table? {No is okay}."
Him: "Sure. Go for it, I trust you."
Did I mention I love that man?!
So, off I went to Michaels and got me some spray paint and acrylic paint. Two days and a whole lot of issues later, I ended up with this:
Here's how I did it...and all my fails along the way!
NIGHT TABLE REDO
Materials: white spray paint, white and turqouise acrylic paint, sponge brushes, sealer, sandpaper, drawer knob, Cutting Edge craft stencil
STEP 1: First, I painted the entire table and drawer white.
FAIL #1: I'm a terrible spray painter.
I started on the drawer and ended up giving it up because I'm just that bad at it. I think I'm either too close or too far away or too impatient. I keep getting funny bubbles and uneven coating and at this point I thought I was going to have to sand it all off and start over. Fortunately, only the front is really visible when the table is together...
Meanwhile, if you're a DIY blogger, please don't ever write in a post, "Oh, then I just spray painted it..." like it's nothing. You make the rest of us feel inferior. :)
Solution #1: I decided to use acrylic paint and a brush instead.
FAIL #2: I ran out of paint.
Since I was planning on spray painting it, all I had was a small, not-full bottle of white paint. It quickly ran out, especially since my table required about 82 coats of paint to fully cover some spots.
Solution #2: Mom to the rescue.
She went to Walmart for me and picked up two huge bottles while I put Little Crafter down for his nap. Then, when she got back, she helped me apply the 82 coats of white paint. Isn't she a saint?
Whew. Once that part was FINALLY finished, I moved on.
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STEP 2: Paint shelf turqouise.
FAIL #3: My turqouise paint was too dark.
I took a piece of fabric with me to the store so I could match the shade of the curtains I made, but the only one I could find was much darker than what I wanted.
SOLUTION #3: Mix it with white.
I squeezed the whole darn bottle into an old empty vegetable can and mixed it with white until I got the color I wanted.
FAIL #4: My stencil wouldn't fit.
Originally, I wanted to stencil the shelf as well as the top of the table, but the stencil didn't want to go in there and no way was I cutting it. It would have been doable, I guess, if I fought with it enough, but I wasn't in a fighting mood anymore.
SOLUTION #4: I gave up and painted it solid turquoise.
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STEP 3: Stencil the top of the table.
This part actually went fine, thank goodness. Hooray for Cutting Edge Stencils!
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STEP 4: Apply Sealer.
FAIL #5: The sealer made ugly drips and turned my white table brownish in some spots. {can you see it in the pic?}
SOLUTION #5: Touch up ugly spots with white paint, then use a different spray sealer instead.
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STEP 5: Distress.
Can I just say this totally freaked me out?
I've never distressed a piece of furniture before, nor did I intend to distress this one. BUT...
FAIL #6: My paint STILL wasn't fully covering in a few spots.
SOLUTION #6: Distress it and make it look like you meant to do that.
It's genius, really. So, I pulled out the sandpaper with no idea what I was doing. Fortunately, the table did the work for me. Seriously. I just started going along edges and the carvings, and poof. Like it was meant to be.
And so, here it is! The project I wasn't sure would be a success turned out to be something I really love.
What a difference, eh? You'll notice one tiny adjustment...hubby turned the knob horizontally and we both decided we like that better, although I think it works either way.
Now it's brightening things up in its new home. Although, I confess, not five seconds after I saw it all together, I said, "hmmm...now we need a new lamp." Hubby just looked at me.
Then he said, "This is a nice lamp." Boys.
Happy Crafting!
