I bet you are all thinking I’ve completely given up on painting large pieces of furniture these days, and in some ways that is true. I’ve mainly been working on small items, and when I do work on furniture it’s smaller pieces of furniture too. Things like the folding chairs I shared a week ago, or the pair of library chairs.
Today’s piece is no exception. My neighbor, nnK, gave me this nightstand. She had purchased a larger dresser and the seller gave her this matching piece as a freebie, so she passed it on to me.
It’s just your classic mid-mod blonde.
It was pretty beat up, which made it a good candidate for painting. I started out by re-gluing some veneer, patching some spots of damaged veneer using Dixie Belle’s Mud, cleaning it well and then painting it in Dixie Belle’s Bunker Hill Blue.
I finished it with Dixie Belle’s flat clear coat. Then I cleaned up the drawer pulls with some soap and water and put them back on.
The hardest part of this project was trying to get some decent photos of this color! I tried going for an industrial vibe inside the carriage house …
Then when I didn’t like any of those photos, I tried taking some outside …
Slightly better? Maybe? OK, not really.
What I really need is a fabulous mid-mod bedroom to use for staging this piece, but I don’t happen to have one of those. So this will have to do.
In addition to staging problems, I was also having technical difficulties with PicMonkey last night while trying to edit these photos. For some reason I simply could not get all of the fonts to load, including the one I usually use for my watermark.
Ultimately I threw in the towel. I used a different font and called it good, shut the computer down and went for a walk with Mr. Q. It was a beautiful evening and I figured it was better to spend it enjoying a walk rather than fighting with my computer.
See? Like I said, a beautiful evening. I’m glad I enjoyed it with Mr. Q, even if it does mean a substandard blog post to share with you all today.
As always, thank you to Dixie Belle for providing the products used on this mid-mod nightstand. If you’re looking for Dixie Belle products you can find them here.
And if you are local and like the looks of this piece despite the less than stellar photos, be sure to check out my available for local sale page for more details.
q is for quandie 
This piece should thank you for saving it from the junk pile and giving it a new life! Beautiful makeover!
LikeLike
Thanks so much Mary! Yeah, it really did look like it belonged in the junk pile didn’t it?
LikeLike
I am impressed with how well the Mud worked to repair the damaged edges. As usual, the creator sees and magnifies every single weak spot in their creation. To me as the viewer, everything in your post looks polished, as usual. Glad you could clear your head with a lovely walk. Stay cool!
LikeLike
I definitely needed to clear my head with that walk. Wrangling with frustrating technical issues is definitely not an area where I shine 🙂
LikeLike
When I first saw the before pic, I thought ” no way, that is so ugly. You could never improve that”. You are a magician, that is one pretty piece. I love that color. And I thought the pics turned out fine!
LikeLike
Thanks Jane! And LOL, I have to agree, it was pretty ugly to start with 🙂
LikeLike
Wow, what a difference between the before and after! That nightstand is gorgeous!
LikeLike
Thanks Kim! It’s always amazing what a little paint can do.
LikeLike
Bunker Hill Blue never disappoints. Great choice for that poor thing.
LikeLike
I agree, it’s turning into one of my favorite shades of blue!
LikeLike
Nothing substandard about this post at all! And wow, what a beauty and the beast type transformation. Can’t believe how well the mud worked and the color is spot on! Love this!
LikeLike
Thanks so much Sheri!
LikeLike
Love the transformation. I just might have said no thanks to that piece but you did it proud. The drawer handles are pretty stellar. What did you do to the “ceiling” of the cubby? Did you stain it or was it that color originally?
LikeLike
LOL, I just didn’t paint it! Of course, in person the only way you can see the ‘ceiling’ is basically to lie on the floor. So I wasn’t paying any attention to it at all!
LikeLike
Fabulous! First picture had me wondering what your neighbor saw in the dresser in the first place – if the nightstand was any indication of the shape it’s in, anyway. Now I’m wondering if she’ll be asking you to paint it, too. This is delicious. I have a weakness for all things blue, but this is truly a remarkable transformation. And that hardware! 😍
LikeLike
Well, I basically painted this one as an example of how it could look in this color, then nnK borrowed the rest of the jar of paint and painted the piece she kept herself. It also turned out fabulous!
LikeLike
I’m hoping that the nightstand is just the homely child of the dresser, for nnk’s sake! But you did a beautiful job on it and now it looks sharp and cool!
LikeLike
Well … they both pretty much had the same look. But since nnK has given the same paint treatment to her piece, it also looks sharp and cool now too 😉
LikeLike
What a difference a little paint makes. So much better in blue than its original color. Great job!!
LikeLike
Almost everything is better in blue 🙂
LikeLike
Great color choice. I’m not a fan of this style of furniture, but man, this almost makes me a fan. So nice that things that could be just thrown out in the trash can have a second life. Great save!
LikeLike
Thanks Terri!
LikeLike
Wow, that was one ugly duckling! Forgive me for momentarily thinking you had lost your mind! As usual, the transformation made me wonder why I ever would doubt you. Not a substandard post at all – but a dramatic before and after.
LikeLike
Well, lucky it was a freebie otherwise I wouldn’t have given it a second look 😉
LikeLike
I absolutely adore that rich blue
color…great makeover!
LikeLike
The first time I saw this color in the jar I thought “oh my, that’s bright” and I felt like I’d need to tone it down to use it. I painted a buffet in it, and then added a black glaze to kick it down a notch (here). But since then the color has really grown on me and I especially love it for mid-mod pieces. It seems to work especially well on the free ones 😉
LikeLike
Wow. What a great save! Grew up with mid-mod. Didn’t like it then and not fond off it now. But this beauty I could live with! And I’m so glad you didn’t miss the opportunity to take a walk with Mr. Q. Missed opportunities tear at your soul when you can’t go back.
LikeLike
I grew up with it too, and had a mid-mod bedroom set in my room as a teenager (which was in the late 70’s, so it was hand-me-down furniture even then). My mom and I had ‘antiqued’ it in lime green. I would never in my wildest dreams have pictured my future as a furniture painter back then 🙂 And I’m glad I didn’t miss the walk too, it was a lovely evening to be out and it was followed up by two days of disgusting heat and humidity!
LikeLike
I’m not a fan of that style furniture but you really turned it around for me. I love it. Great job with repair and just beautiful color choice.
LikeLike