Two abandoned-house nightstand rehabs
When my dad and I picked up a load of furniture from the abandoned house, we grabbed two matching nightstands (not pictured below!)
I didn't really have a specific plan for the nightstands, but you know...a wonderfully freeing thing about starting over with very few possessions is that you can take on a, "Sure, I'll take it! This is better than nothing." approach to stuff.
And that opens up a lot of possibilities.
As with everything from this house, they were dusty, dirty, and reeked of cigarette smoke (with a hint of musty mildew).
I tackled one of these last year, to serve as a nightstand in Lisey's room.
I did this one while I was still living with my parents, actually. I sanded it down in my dad's garage.
Even though I sanded it down thoroughly, it still smelled pretty funky.
This was the time when I bought the Benjamin Moore First Light color, expecting it to look like this.
But in real life, it turned out to be a much lighter pink. You've seen this color on my Philco table and also on the Ikea Jules chair I just rehabbed.
Anyway, after priming the nightstand, I applied the pink paint which, yes, looks very white.
When I paint furniture in a light color, I often have to use caulk to fill in some gaps; the light color makes them rather unsightly.
In the below picture, you can see the side gap is caulked, but obviously, the gap underneath the top also needs some caulk.
I always paint over the caulk once it's dried; even if the caulk perfectly matches the color of the paint (unlikely!) it will not look right unless it's been painted over because the sheen is different.
Also, in my experience, caulk yellows as it ages, so it becomes unsightly if not painted to match.
The top of this nightstand was damaged to begin with, so it does not look perfect. However, it's better than it was, and I'm happy with that.
The top is a real wood veneer, but underneath is particle board. So, the previous water damage had caused some bubbling that could not be fixed with sanding.
This is where a, "good enough is good enough" attitude comes in handy.
Anyway! I bought some gold handles from Home Depot to replace the original handles.
And this served as Lisey's nightstand for the year that she lived here.
I'm happy to say that a year+ later, this nightstand smells fine. No one would ever know it's from the abandoned house.
Except for the fact that I am currently telling the whole internet. 😉
The other nightstand sat in my carport for almost a whole year before I finally decided to redo it. I didn't have a pressing need for it, so I really could not find the motivation to do something with it.
Unsurprisingly, a year in the semi-outdoors had not improved the nightstand much.
BUT.
I will say that a year of airing out improved the smell immensely! The cigarette odor was pretty much gone.
The first order of business was sanding, of course. I used my trusty Bosch orbital sander. (at the time of this writing, it's 25% off at Amazon!)
It looked a whole lot cleaner after the sanding.
As with the other one, though, there's definitely some veneer damage on the top.
The drawers were in much better shape than the top. Incidentally, I love how easy it is to sand drawer fronts. There are no pesky interior corners where my sander won't fit!
You know the next step: priming.
I brought the nightstand inside for painting because it was tooooo humid outside.
(Both for the furniture and for me. Ha.)
I decided to use some of the paint that I used for both the abandoned house crate:
and the base of my Buy Nothing toaster oven table.
The cat litter in the below picture is quite irrelevant; we just happened to get an order from Chewy on that day.
And here's what it looks like now. Except ugh, whenever I take pictures of this paint color, I never feel like I get it quite right. It is less blue than it appears in this photo!
Since my primary objective with this rehab was to keep costs down, I opted to use the original hardware.
I'd say this picture is fairly accurate in terms of how the color looks in real life, by the way.
As with the pink version, you can definitely see some damage on the top after painting.
But as with the pink one...this is way better than before! So I am content.
Since I don't need a nightstand anywhere, my plan is to put this in my office closet to get my printer off the floor. So the condition of the top is actually pretty irrelevant.
So!
Before:
And after:
Whew. That was a lot of photos to upload. Gold stars for you if you made it all the way through!
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P.S. If you've been here for other furniture posts, you already know this but...here's a quick list of the supplies I always use.
- Bosch Orbital sander
- Zinnser 1-2-3 primer
- Benjamin Moore Advance paint in satin sheen (the pink is First Light and the blue is Ebony Slate)
- Dap Latex caulk
To apply the primer and paint, I use a little 4-inch roller with a relatively low nap, plus a very small paintbrush (a little bigger than a watercolor brush. So handy for tiny little corners and grooves.)
All so pretty, useful and with a history. I love it!
And Chiquita just makes me laugh.
Goodness, that came out lovely! Both paint colors bring out the wonderful curves details in the nightstands. The original hardware looks splendid against that purple/gray—did you clean the metal with anything in particular?
Another job well done. Older furniture was built to last whereas most furniture made today is not. A great save and savings for you and the planet.
Great job, as always in refurbishing an old piece. I wish I had the place (small city apt with NO extra space at all) to do this kind of rehabbing.
I admire both your skills and patience in tackling such projects. AND your luck in getting so many items for free or low cost.
@Irena,
When my husband and I lived in an apartment, we sometimes rehabbed furniture using chalk paint. It doesn't have the harsh fumes so we didn't mind having to paint indoors. This might be an option for you, depending on how small your apartment is.
Can you even estimate how many pieces of furniture you've painted by now? It's definitely your thing. 🙂
I painted my children's bathroom yesterday. Painting is NOT my thing, and I was so proud of myself, I wrote a whole post about it. Because what is a blog for but to celebrate small victories, right?
Woohoo! I am giving you a big pat on the back for doing something you hate!
@Kristen, Thank you. And thank you, also, for leaving a comment on the actual post.
I love all your rehab pictures. I definitely do not sand as much as you do. Maybe I need to get a new sander?!?!?!?
It all looks great.
The First Light color as picture on that IG is really pretty. It's close to one of the candidates for painting my living room. https://www.amyhowardhome.com/products/palmer-pink-one-step-paint
I keep putting it off but it does need to get done. The other candidates are a pale gray and Lilacs a Blooming. https://www.amyhowardhome.com/products/lilacs-a-bloomin-one-step-paint
Another fine furniture rehab, Kristen!
And, boy, did I wish that you, your dad, and your dad's truck were here yesterday. A house on the next street over is being emptied out, and LOADS of furniture and other things are ending up on the curb. Some of it was good old stuff in its day, too; I saw one small sideboard that looked as if it might have been Mission oak. (Condition issues, of course, but...) Unfortunately, that sideboard and the other two pieces I wanted were gone by the time I got back there with the Element. You gotta move fast for the things you want at our "East Side Flea Market"!
@A. Marie, I'm glad someone nailed it, though! I'm an Arts and Crafts girl.
Loooooove before and afters!!!
I love the results! I love that you are using more color now too. I like white or black furniture but I do love to see splashes of color. Another great rehab!
Watching Kristen rehab a piece is almost as satisfying as doing it myself!
It’s interesting how different the styles of the two nightstands appear from each other with just the paint and hardware differences. Not sure if the paint really has a hint of blue, but I like it! The dark paint looks great with the original hardware.
I looked up the paint color and it does in fact say it has indigo undertones. That makes me like it even more 🙂
You really do a fantastic job on your rehabs.
Looks great, Kristen!
Wow, what great saves! I really do like the original hardware, good choice on the slate piece as the bronze provides a nice accent. And the darker color really brings out the beautiful curves of the piece. Brings out the Mid-Century Modern vibes for sure.
I’m ALWAYS inspired to paint something after these posts! 🙂 good job it looks great!
Really well done! And, getting the "cigarette" smell out of anything is the most difficult part of the job!!
Kristen, everything looks fantastic! I wish I had your vision…when I see old damaged furniture…I don’t see potential..I see old damaged furniture. I have 2 dressers that are sentimental to my husband (but truly everything is because he has hoarder tendencies). Anyway, I’d love to get rid of them and get different items (they are in a guest room) but I guess I need to take another look at them. I wish you lived nearby so I could have you give me your ideas. They aren’t in terrible shape but could use a refresh. Oh well…I guess I will look on Pinterest for ideas on what to do with them.
@Beth, me too! I usually look the other way when I see old damaged furniture. Hopefully you and I will start seeing potential because of Kristen's step by step project updates.
Are you in the private Facebook group? If you are, you could post pics and let us all give you some ideas!
@Kristen,
I am and I will take pics soon and see what the creative types like you think I should do…
Turned out great, that's one lucky printer!
@Katy @ The Non-Consumer Advocate, for real! Pretty sure my printer is jealous now, lol.
Well done, Kristen!
Beautiful job of making something old new!
Your furniture redos are just beautiful. I have done some myself and I know what a tedious job it is. You get a wonderful result.
Thank you so much!
Both nightstands are beautiful. And your step-by- step explanations are so clear.
Thank you!
I just love what you did with BOTH night stands. The hardware on the first one is gorgeous and the color on the second one is beautiful!! I like having “not so precious” furnishings so when I spill a drink or get some jelly from my toast all over something I am not too freaked out. I sort of hate to see that second stand go into a closet., it looks like “ready for prime time” in a living room or bedroom! but you know what your home needs,best.You are soo talented!!!
Did you do anything special to get rid of the smell? Or just time and airing? The nightstands look amazing!
Thank you for the comment that you knew the handles were
crooked! It WAS bothering me, haha.
I love Before and After photos of painted furniture. Amazing what some elbow grease and paint can do! Nice work, and thanks for taking the time to share.
Very nice makeovers! They both look great and I have to say that the original hardware looks terrific with it in dark grey - I find that it suits the curves of the piece(s).