Bedside Tables Makeover Part 1

Last week I incarcerated a nerve or something on my right shoulder so I was a little bit handicapped but I thought I will feel better soon. Well, this morning I woke up and found myself incarcerated on both shoulders.... the hunchback of Notre-Dame is alive!

So this is why I could not really do anything but I managed it to steel brush and grind some bedside tables I started to redo some weeks ago.

To do the whole tutorial on one post would be too long of a story anyways and I have to wait for the knobs I ordered to finish them so I decided to post the first part today. The second part will be up as soon as I got the knobs which I found on MIK Funshopping. I had a hard time on picking one of them because I think that they are all wonderful!

The bedside tables I preserved from being trashed at a removal are hand and custom made and differ a little from each other. They had this good old mountain cabin look which in my opinion is looking good in a mountain cabin on two thousand meter up high and nowhere else. ;)

I removed the metal fittings and knobs which where in a different style on both of them and cleaned the wood with the vacuum cleaner and a dust cloth.

Afterwards I grinded them gently with sandpaper nr 100 and afterwards with nr 180 for a smoother finish and preparation. Please never forget to wear a dust-mask while grinding! I know they smell but it's better than getting a black lung of all the dust!

After grinding a major cleaning has to be done! Otherwise the paint won't stick properly to the wood.

Again I used the vacuum cleaner and a dust cloth.

When all the dust is gone you will see if there are any spots that have to be grinded again. Depending on the previous treatment of the wood and depending on what kind of paint you use it's not necessary to grind all the way. Ask for advice when buying the paint! There you can get useful tips.

Since I'm kind of lazy sometimes I didn't mind that I found a paint that worked on lightly grinded ground.

I started to paint all the insides (drawers and tables). Oh, and even if it's annoying don't forget to cover the floor with plastic before doing such projects!

Since I was up for a shabby look I used a brush with middle thick hair. There also get some useful advice at the place you buy your material. If you are up for a smooth look it's better to use a roller or a brush with thin hair. The thicker the hair the shabbier the look and it won't cover up all the way.

For my project, as I said, I used a brush with middle thick hair and I only painted one layer because I wanted the wood to shine through my paint.

I used a white matt indoor paint on a water basis.

While grinding I found this number on the inside of one of the tables and I thought it would be cool if it would shine through so I didn't use a lot of paint around it. I thought this was kind of a neat detail!

Make sure the drawers and doors won't lean against anything while the paint is wet unless you would like to include this effect into the finish of your project... ;)

Let it all dry proper before continuing.

Ok. This was part one. I know, I know: that was the boring part and at least I would wait for the second part to know about the finish. Well lets hope the knobs will arrive soon!

Love,

Dina