I picked this nightstand up at the Highland Park garage sales. It was pre-prepped for me, meaning the person selling it had intended to refinish it herself, but she never completed it. She had sanded it and removed the knobs (unfortunately, she didn’t have them anymore).
It was so nice of her to take care of the boring parts of the process for me! All I had to do was focus on the creative, ie. fun, part.
A while back I made a trade with my friend Michelle. I found some darling mid-century Italian tole wall sconces at a garage sale that I knew would be perfect for Michelle, and I had been admiring a roll of fab mid-century wallpaper that she had stashed in her studio. An easy trade.
What I love about this wallpaper? The colors are perfect, aqua, pink and white with that little touch of metallic gold and black. Feminine, without being flowery. Geometric all-over pattern that isn’t difficult to line up. It’s perfect for my needs. I was hanging on to it just waiting for the right mid-century piece to use it on. And I knew this nightstand was it. So let’s pop into the photo cottage and see how it turned out!
Yep, pretty fab, right?
I painted this with Annie Sloan’s Provence. Then I added the wallpaper to the back of the cubby area, and the front of the drawer.
A couple of my friends really pushed me to find a more classically mid-century knob for this piece, but after perusing Etsy and finding the knobs I liked to be rather pricey, I opted to go with some vintage milk glass knobs that I already had on hand. They aren’t typical mid-century. They were not stark white, but had a bit of an aqua tint.
Classic mid-century base.
I think the combination of the very mid-century style of the nightstand, the mid-century wallpaper and vintage milk glass knobs comes together nicely to create a ‘mid-century meets vintage’ look.
I’ll leave you with one last b & a.
What do you think? A good combo of mid-century and vintage?
q is for quandie 
I LOVE how your night stand turned out. I have a midcentury night stand that I painted the body out in an off white and left the top and draws in the natural wood that it was because they are in good condition. I paint and restore furniture (just a new bee to this) and then sell them at a Flea Market. My nightstand just is not selling. So I am thinking that I would like to try what you did on yours. It really looks beautiful. I just wanted to know what you do to apply the wall paper to the furniture. What do you use to make it stick and stay? Can you please help me with that information? I really would appreciate any and all instructions that you will offer.
Thank you very much
Debbie
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I have been using wallpaper paste. My logic is that if it sticks on a wall, it will work on furniture too. As long as I am careful to make sure there is paste all the way to the edges, it seems to adhere very well. I use a squeegee to smooth it out after I apply the paper to the furniture. I also take care when deciding where to put wallpaper, I try not to use it on an area that would get a lot of wear, like the top or too close to the edges of a drawer.
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thank you that helps A LOT.
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I LOVE the nightstand. I’m curious why you used the sheer curtain over the window for the photograph?? I found it distracting.
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Dang! You weren’t supposed to notice that. It wasn’t part of the plan. I just had that hanging there for a different photo shoot, and I didn’t intend to include the window in any of the nightstand pics. I took all the other pictures, but then as I was walking away I noticed how cute the nightstand looked inside the photo cottage from standing on the deck so I snapped that photo. You can also see my white clothes line behind the window, which isn’t the greatest look either. Luckily there weren’t any undies on the line!
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This one turned out great. I love the color together with the wallpaper. The knobs go perfectly.
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Thanks sis.
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What a beauty-I love the color and the paper! Another great job by you!
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Thanks Darrielle!
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Every time I get another post from Quandie, I add another favorite until my mind is swirling with all the wondrous furniture you have turned out.
I have some rolls of vintage wallpaper in my workroom after I sold most of it on eBay. I wallpapered one wall in my kitchen – over the sink. Sometimes a drop of water will hit it and it leaves a stain, but I don’t care, I like that. Of course, I could have sprayed it with a coat of flat clear acrylic, but I’m not that bright. Well, I should have done it before I put it up. Of course, that isn’t necessary on a stand.
I think this stand is the cutest thing yet! I so love the look.
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I have found that the vintage wallpaper is pretty fragile while working with it; tears easily along the edge and so on. It must have been tough to do a whole wall.
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Nice spin on this piece Linda, makes me think of the original Dick Van Dyke show. Is that weird ? Making a left turn to talk about the props – I did not realize Tracey Porter had a book out – if I am not mistaken her taste run pretty bohemian. What’s the book like? I have Fifi’s book – a bit rustic for my home but I do find prairie style quite charming.
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Tracy Porter has several books out there, but all of them are at least 10 years old or older. The one in my picture is the most recent one and is from 2002. I also have her Inspired Gatherings book. You are right, kind of bohemian. Lots of color and pattern. But the color of her book jacket is perfect for my furniture photo shoots 😉
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