How to paint a bedside table – Upcycling Project

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Since moving into our new home, I’ve become the paint queen. I don’t think there’s any surface or piece of furniture that can’t be improved with a lick of paint (though please don’t destroy any antiques by doing this…….)

I love how the paint can take a sub-standard piece of furniture and turn it into something a little more you.

I’ve owned a particular set of bedside tables and chest of drawers for years. I had them in my bedroom as a child, and when Jay and I moved to our first house, we took them with us. There’s nothing particularly wrong with them, but I always wanted to upcycle them and paint them — we just never got around to it. Partly because the bedroom in our last house was one of the only rooms we didn’t touch.

   

But the bedroom in the new house was the first thing I painted, taking it from a cream box to a lovely blue haven ideal for getting a good night’s sleep. But these bedside tables were calling out for some paint. The tops were very orange, as were the handles. I suppose I could have laid some adhesive vinyl over the top and changed the knobs and it would be job done, but I had something more exciting up my sleeve.

So, I nipped to my local Frenchic stockist to see what I could come up with. I had two ideas – to paint the bedside tables a very light colour or a very dark colour. To help me make the decision, I asked my loyal Instagram followers.

Using these (wonderfully photoshopped) photos, I asked if they would go light or dark, ignoring other details like the handles and going simply off colour.

   

This was my most-answered poll ever on Instagram with 130 people taking part, and 59% said they would go light and 41% said dark. Really, it was quite a close call.

So, of course, I ignored the majority and decided to paint my bedside cabinets dark! But there was a little detail I wanted to add to the drawers too.

 

Adding moulding to drawers

When I created the above photo, what I loved so much about the light-coloured cabinet was the detail around the drawers. I decided that I wanted to do something similar.

To add moulding, you will need:

• 3x lengths of pine moulding* (2m lengths)
• No More Nails (or similar)
• A hand saw
• Caulk

I ordered this pine moulding* from B&Q. It comes in lengths of two metres, so I ordered three lots. Remember to order a little bit more than you need in case you make any cutting mistakes or damage the moulding. I didn’t want the moulding to stick out too much, so I went for a thin thickness of 7.5mm.

I tried it out on the drawers and absolutely loved how it made them look.

Adding trim, or moulding, to drawers is really easy but looks so effective. The most important part is to check that the trim lines up and is straight on all the drawers – one wonky line and the whole thing would look slightly off.

We decided that we wanted the moulding right around the edge of the drawers. We tested to see what it would look like in a bit, say half an inch, but we didn’t like this look as much. All of our drawers were the same size, which made things a little easier too.

Cutting the moulding is easy enough. We have a mitre saw* at home but the job could also be done with a hand saw and some precision. The cuts were 45 degree cuts that simply slot together a bit like a picture frame. We didn’t nail them in place, but glued them in using No More Nails*.

   

I couldn’t believe the difference a little bit of pine moulding could make. The drawers look so much narrower and much more expensive. This little detail only cost around £20 in total and I’m so pleased we took the time to do it.

Once the glue was fully dried, we applied some caulk between the edge of the moulding and the drawer to fill in any obvious gaps. The caulk can be applied using the nozzle. Then, wet your finger and run it along the caulk to really get it into the gaps and smooth it out.

   

And there we have the finished drawers with a nice neat trim around the edge.

 

How to paint a bedside table

Once we’d faffed about adding the moulding, it was time to paint.

To paint your bedside tables you will need:

• Dust sheets
• Sandpaper
• 2x cloths
• Sugar soap
• Paintbrushes
• Paint (I used Frenchic in Smudge)

For furniture, I find that Frenchic* is one of the best paints. It’s so easy to work with, self-levelling to avoid those dreaded brush strokes and is hard-wearing once it’s dried and cured.

But before you can get stuck in with painting, it’s time to do some prep first (aka, the bit no one likes but is important).

   

First, I laid out my dust sheet and removed the drawers from the cabinets. I unscrewed the knobs from each of the drawers too. I wasn’t too fussed about being messy on the inside as you won’t be able to see much of this so I didn’t bother to tape it off. I also left the top on, which I could have unscrewed.

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I used quite a light sandpaper to sand down the cabinets. You don’t need to sand them a lot, just enough to add a key and roughen up the wood so that the paint will adhere better. It’s worth taking the time to do a light sand before painting.

I made sure to clean the units down using a microfibre cloth and a warm water solution mixed with sugar soap*. Once I’d done this, I went over the units with warm water (no soap) to remove any excess soap residue. I then dried the units with another cloth.

Once your surface is clean and dry, NOW you can start painting. I used Frenchic’s al fresco paint in colour Smudge*. Apply the paint in thin coats, making sure not to slap it on too thick.

   

I started on one side of the bedside cabinet and moved around to the front and then the other side. Once I’d done one coat in that way, I then painted each of the drawer fronts individually. I repeated this process for the second bedside table.

Ideally, you should wait at least two hours between coats, but four hours would be even better. Then apply your second and third coats. Because I was painting quite a light wood a dark colour, I did three coats. However, the Frenchic paint goes a long way and I had more than enough paint for the project.

You can do a light sand between coats if you wish, however, I find that this isn’t needed.

Once you’ve painted your bedside tables, you should be extra careful when handling the units for up to three weeks. This is the amount of time it takes the paint to cure. Once it’s cured, it should be rock solid and great for every day use, but until then it could scratch of scuff easily. We were careful when using the drawers and only reattached the knobs very loosely so they wouldn’t rub the paint either.

   

I love the colour of the bedside tables and I’m so glad I chose to go dark, but those orange tops still needed to go.

We used our orbit sander to take the pine wood right back to its original state with no orange varnish in sight.

 

That’s much better!

But they’re not finished yet. I’m all about the details, and while I could have painted the wooden handles, these brass ones from The Hairpin Leg Co are the ultimate finishing touch.

Just a bit of a difference hey!

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