We’ve lived in our home going into our eighth year now and haven’t done much to our primary bedroom other than paint the walls from a metallic blue to white and swap out the dated fan for a modern fan. I bought some nightstands from Target the first year we moved in because I hadn’t had a nightstand for years. When we brought O home, I moved my nightstand in order to fit her crib next to our bed. Once we moved her crib to the nook space in our room, I never brought the nightstand back and would just put my water bottle on the floor.

Here are some of my inspiration images:

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After seeing Danielle @ournestonpowell and Jenna @jennasuedesign hack their nightstands and add beautiful fluted trim, I decided I would try to give my nightstands a makeover and save myself $1,100+ on the nightstands I really wanted.

Here’s what my nightstands looked like before:

Threshold Parsons Nightstand

And here’s the after:

Here are the steps I took. I did this project 100% on my own and I’m pretty damn proud of it.

Materials:

• Fluted trim
• Liquid nails
• Chalk spray paint (Behr, Noir)
• Polyurethane top coat in matte
• Orbital sander, sand paper (220 grit), sanding blocks
• Caulk
• Nail gun
• Tack cloth
• Measuring tape
• Shellac-based interior primer
• Level
• Clamps
• Knobs (8)
• 3/4″ MDF boards for shelves (used scrap)

Most of the materials I had at home already. The only things I purchased for this project were the fluted pieces of trim (3), chalk spray paint (8 cans), hardware (8 knobs), and a tube of liquid nails.

Steps:

First, I removed the drawer front of my nightstand and took measurements to determine how many pieces of trim I would need to cover the fronts. I only needed to cover two of the three drawers. Each drawer used roughly 7 pieces total. I made repeat cuts to length using my mitre saw.

Taking one piece, I clamped it to the drawer and dry fit the drawer back into the nightstand to determine spacing and where to glue. Once I got it in the right position, I marked it and glued it down using liquid nails. Then I glued the remaining pieces and ripped the final piece to fit. Then I took the original drawer front and put it on top and clamped it down to dry. This helps distribute even pressure. Repeat process for all drawers.

While that is drying, I started to figure out how to convert the top drawer into a shelf, a la my inspiration from the Crate & Barrel nightstands. I miraculously had some scrap 3/4 in. MDF boards leftover from another project that happened to fit nearly perfectly in the top, but needed some braces to rest on. Using random scraps I had in the garage, I added three pieces (one on each side and one along the back) to the cabinet using liquid nails and a nail gun. I added clamps to those to secure and let dry.

Next, I did a quick rough sand on the nightstand with my orbital sander using 220 grit paper. This helps the primer and paint adhere to the furniture better since it’s a veneer finish. After sanding, I used a blower to blow out all of the dust, a shop vac to vacuum, and then a tack cloth to make sure we got every last piece.

Using shellac-based interior primer, I gave the nightstand a coat of primer and let dry overnight.

The next day, I started with the drawers by adding a thin line of caulk between each piece of trim on the drawers. Tip: use a baby wipe to smooth out!

Then using a sanding block, give the nightstand a quick sand down and repeat the steps to remove dust. Once those steps are down, prepare your area for paint.

I decided on a chalk paint because I read that it’s good for furniture. I’ve also used the Sherwin Williams Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel paint line on my kitchen cabinets, so that could be an option as well. I did three coats of spray paint on all pieces (nightstand, shelf, drawers) with light coats to avoid drips (although I had a couple that I did need to sand out between coats). Once everything was dry, I added three coats of polyurethane to the top for protection.

The final step was to add the gold hardware. I used the same knobs I have in my kitchen. I was going to go for the brass but didn’t think it’d work well in the overall scheme of the space. Once I figured out the placement of the knobs, I added a piece of painter’s tape (this helps so you don’t chip all of your paint when drilling) and used a drill to create pilot holes for the knobs. Once issue I ran into was that my knob screws weren’t long enough to accommodate the drawer + trim front, so I had to look for longer screws. So be sure to check that measurement when ordering and be prepared.

I let the nightstand sit overnight again before bringing up to the room. It was night and day and I’m SO glad that I went for it!

Total Cost: $165

• Fluted trim: $33
• Spray paint: $56
• Knobs: $76

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