Night stand makeover

Good Morning! 

I hope everyone had a great weekend!  

I did some hiking, diving, and relaxing with my pup.  

No running this weekend but I am aiming to make up for it this week.  I can't wait to share all of my great pictures about the weekend.  Until I get all of those pictures uploaded, let me share with you my latest DIY project!

Once upon a time there lived an ugly nightstand.  I mean, not the ugliest night stand you ever saw, but just the most boring plane jane wooden night stand you ever saw.  It was sitting in Goodwill, all lonely and ugly, until it gravitated to my car, made its way to Essex, lived next to my bed for two years, gravitated to Chester, and lived next to my couch for five months.

Yep- typical Katie DIY prospect.  Buy ugly piece, look at it for a few years until you can''t stand it and then go on a rampage and redo all of the furniture in your apartment. Well after my Chevron End Table nightmare/success, I decided to keep up the good work while I still had my supplies out.  I decided I didn't want to buy more paint to stick with my grey and white theme.

Two coats of primer, three coats of paint - Same drill as the laminate end tables from hell.  Except this was real wood (except for the backing) and cooperated easily.

I eventually got them to their stark white boring state.

I saw LiveLoveDIY's table makeover and let it inspire me.  

See her makeover HERE

So I went on over to Michaels, which ended up being AC Moore (same difference)  and bought a stencil- Why are they so damn expensive.  The one big stencil I liked was $20, while Martha had a set of 6 smaller stencils for $15.   I went with the 6 for $15 figuring I could reuse them.  I however did not buy the spray adhesive for the stencil because I   a.  think I am invinceable and b.  am cheap.  That stuff was like 6 bucks.

I should have stopped being stupid and cheap bevause it was impossible to keep the stencil on the table and get clean neat lines.  It was smudgey and I hated it. I half finished it.  Stopped, Looked at it.  Stopped.  Finished it.  Let it dry.  And went to sand it off.

But then, I reallllly liked the sanded worn effect.

Fail turned to a success. 

See-  laziness pays off sometimes 

Ta Da!   Turned out so pretty.  

Let me share a little trick I found out after I finished this piece.  After a TON of layers or primer and paint, the drawer was really sticky and I had a really hard time opening and closing it.  I did a little research and found the simplest fix.  I took a bar of soap and rubbed it along the edges of the drawer and the track.   Stuck the drawer back in and it glides in and out like butter.  

Really great tip to know!