My first project

Before

After

New Knobs

Old

There is something so special about re-furnishing something old. My last blog played with the idea of pretty things. I feel strongly about surrounding your space with things you like to look at. I took an old nightstand and turned it into something new and fresh all for under $50. I originally bought this nightstand at the local Goodwill shop for around $20.00. I always had the intention to fix-er-up, but like so many things, I put it on the back burner. The whole transformation took a total of 5 hours (including my trips to Home Depot and Anthropologie!) Here's a brief synopsis of my project:

1. Scrubbed it clean. Whether you're painting a canvas, wood, or piece of furniture you want to make sure you are working with a clean surface. Dirt and dust will clump up with paint. So, unless that is the look you are going for, clean up first!
2. Removed the old knobs with a screwdriver.
3. Coated the night stand with two coats of white paint. I used a can of semi-gloss white paint from Home Depot and a new paint brush. Brushes are important! If you are ever going to paint furniture it's worth a few extra bucks to get a higher quality brush to get a smooth coat of paint. The paint and brush together were $24.00. (Lots of paint left for my next project)
4. I left my nightstand out in the sun and let it dry. In the meantime, I drove over to Anthropolgie and bought two new knobs. Anthro has a huge selection of adorable knobs making choosing only one style pretty tough! I went with black knobs with a white etching of a skyline. The skyline reminded me of Florentine architecture. Florence is a city with personal significance and brings me back to a beautiful time in my life, so the knobs were a must. Oh, and did I mention they were on sale for $2.99 each?
5. Thanks to the San Diego sunshine, my nightstand was dry once I returned home. I screwed in the new knobs and completed my first project.

My favorite part about my new nightstand is that it is completely unique. I could have bought something from Ikea for under $50, but there's just no charm in mass production.