The other day, I mentioned I would be sharing with you a DIY project I was working on... Painting my nightstand coral. I got this nightstand originally from Target, because the antiqued mercury glass front matched other decor pieces in my bedroom. (And it was on clearance.) Both my desk and my dresser are a darker wood, but I thought it wouldn't bother me too much for this piece to be lighter.
But after a whole year, it does. So something had to change.
I have touches of coral in my room, so I thought why not bring that pop of color into my nightstand!
First, I gathered my materials. I picked up semi-gloss paint from Walmart, where the clerk was very intrigued to know what I was going to paint such a bright color. My mom and I get that a lot--We aren't afraid of color at all! I already had the brushes and sandpaper on hand, and I actually ended up doing touch ups with a smaller craft brush. To prep the nightstand for paint, I went over the whole thing with a gentle layer of sanding. Even though the original finish wasn't super glossy, sanding gives the paint something to stick to. It just seemed like a good idea!
Then, I painted! I alternated the direction of my paint layers--horizontal, then vertical, then horizontal, etc-- and to combat the sticky Florida humidity (let me just tell you, if I had done this in Colorado it would have dried so fast!), I used the following method:
* 2 layers, almost back to back, then let dry for about an hour to 1.5 hours.
*1 layer, wait for it to dry, then move it inside for afternoon rain showers & to dry in the cool inside air.
*The next morning, do 2 more layers. The last layer is where I used the smaller brush to get the legs fully covered.
*Then, bring the nightstand inside, to let dry inside for at least 48 hours.
Somewhere in there, I painted the trim around the drawer, because initially I was thinking I might keep it the wood color. I also wasn't sure if I liked the original knob or not. After checking how it looked on the morning of the second day before my last two paint coats, I decided I wanted the drawer coral too, as well as a new knob. After a trip to Hobby Lobby... Voila!
I'm so happy with how it turned out! And because I basically immediately left town, I was able to put it in my room but not put anything on it or in it, so it has more time to fully cure. I can't wait to see how it looks in my new apartment in August...
Stay tuned for pictures!
--Caroline
