One of the first projects we did in our bedroom  (that was featured in Apartment Therapy and SMP Living) was a DIY bedside table makeover of my husband’s previous bedside tables. They were this deep red wood color and matched his old bed. I didn’t want to purchase new side tables that would match our new bed because side tables can be expensive! These tables were good quality and just needed a makeover and I was ready for my first DIY bedside table project. I was originally thinking to do the ever so popular Pinterest IKEA hack of the RAST dresser which costs $50 Cdn each, but these side tables were just as good and I would save the $100 to buy new tables for the project.

To remove the old paint and glaze from the side table, I read several articles on the best way to do it. Some suggested using stain removers to take off the top coat and glaze, however, we decided to go with the sanding method, which worked very well for us.

We used the same primer and paint that we bought for painting our room because I wanted the side tables to be an off white colour so they would match our room and the dresser we bought. So, all we needed to purchase was a sander, hardware, and the top coat. I had a hard time finding brass or gold colored hardware, so we bought some spray paint and some silver hardware in the style I liked and it gave the same look as gold/brass hardware.

We had three options for the sander: 1. We could rent it from Home Depot,  2. we could buy a brand new sander from Home Depot, 3. or we could search on Kijiji or Craigslist for a sander. Even though we wanted to save some money, we decided to spend the money and get a brand new sander from Home Depot. We got the Milwaukee orbit sander and it is perfect! An investment into our future projects as well!!

I did some research for top coats for DIY bedside tables because I always find that when I go to Home Depot, no one is available to help or no one knows enough to be of help. So I just did some research online and decided to use Varathane Clear Finish as the top coat mostly because it is water based, safe to use and premium quality so we hope the side tables last a long time!

SUPPLIES

Sander

Primer

Paint of choice

Gold Hardware – I got mine from Home Depot

Spray paint – if you want to change colour of hardware

Top coat

DIRECTIONS – DIY bedside table

Remove all hardware from old side table and remove the drawers as well. Place the side table onto a good working surface. Sand down the table using an orbit sander until you get down to the wood layer. Wipe down the table with an old cloth before painting.

First, do a primer coat, and then paint one or two layers of your paint of choice once the primer has dried.

Once the paint has dried, use sandpaper to give the furniture a distressed look. We sandpapered until we could see some of the wood and we loved this look. But it is your call to make as to how much you want to distress. Now apply your top coat and let it dry.

Spray paint your hardware if necessary and put together the drawers and hardware.

Your new DIY bedside table is ready!! If you want to see how we styled it in our bedroom, check out our bedroom reveal 🙂