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DIY Rustic Nightstand Makeover

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An easy and inexpensive nightstand makeover for a thrifted piece of furniture.

A nightstand makeover using paint sticks and stain | chatfieldcourt.com

In January I shared the mood board for the guest room makeover, which included a new nightstand from West Elm. After starting the redo and assessing my needs and wants for the room, I decided to stick with what I had and to try to give the old nightstand a new look.

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Changing the Look of a Nightstand | Chatfield CourtI bought this piece years ago at a thrift store. It was really inexpensive but the problem was that you could tell. Although it’s made of wood there was a big gap on both sides that I wanted to try to disguise with trim. Instead of trim though, I came up with another idea.

I decided to try to use paint sticks to give it a different look and to cover up the gaps. Because I love the look of planked walls, I thought I would try that idea but on a much smaller scale (and on a piece of furniture). I figured that I had nothing to lose by trying and dove right in.

Supplies for DIY rustic nightstand makeover

  • paint sticks (I used about 25)
  • wood stain
  • wood glue
  • sand paper
  • utility knife

Changing the Look of a Nightstand | Chatfield Court

First, I laid a few of the paint sticks on the nightstand so I could see where the seams would lay. Once I had an idea of what I wanted, I used the razor knife to cut the notched handle off, so that I had straight pieces. Next, the rough edges were lightly sanded smooth. Since one stick wasn’t long enough to fill a whole row, I ended up using a small piece of another stick. I also staggered the seams to keep the rustic feel.

Changing the Look of a Nightstand | Chatfield Court

Next, I used a paper towel and dark walnut wood stain on each paint stick.

The paint sticks I got were all made from different wood, so that really added to the rustic look. I wasn’t sure if I would like it but I really loved the differences in the wood tones.

Changing the Look of a Nightstand | Chatfield Court

After they were dry, which didn’t take long, I glued each piece to the side of the nightstand. To ensure that my sticks stuck, I ended up using a heavy weight and some canned beans to weigh them down until they dried. Once I finished one side of the nightstand, I flipped it over and glued down the other side. That’s it. This project really was so easy but it did take me take me some time to complete because I had to let the glue dry before I could remove the weights and move on to the next row.

You can really see the difference in the wood tones in this pic.

A-Rustic-Nightstand 7

To add to the rustic look, I also replaced the glass knobs with oil-rubbed bronze knobs that I already had.

So what do you think? Is this nightstand makeover something you would try? I like that it was practically free to do. I already had the glue and the stain on hand and the paint sticks were free. There’s nothing better than free!

Now I have a “new” rustic-looking nightstand.  

Guest-Room-Reveal

A DIY nightstand makeover using paint sticks and stain | chatfieldcourt.com

As always, thanks so much for stopping by!

 

Check out a few of my other upcycle projects I’ve done on furniture.  

Turning an old, rusty typewriter table into a DIY industrial nightstand with spray paint.DIY Thrifted Industrial Nightstand

DIY Goodwill dresser makeover in navy in corner of bedroomDIY Goodwill Dresser Makeover


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Reader Interactions

Comments

  4. Mary-the boondocks blog

    What a smart way to solve this problem. I am also in the process of redoing my dresser and this is such a nice look. Thanks for the inspiration. Pinning! Kristi, I host a new link party Sweet Inspiration that runs Friday till Tuesday. I would love to have you join us.

    Reply

  5. Cat @ Pocketful of Posies

    This is beautiful! Thank you for linking up with Dream. Create. Inspire. Link! You’ll be one of our features this week!
    Cat

    Reply

  6. Vineta @ The Handyman's Daughter

    I love the contrast of the white nightstand against the dark stain. It looks amazing, and I never would have thought those were paint sticks!

    Reply

  7. Terry

    Beautiful mind you have to think of this idea! It looks soooo good! I would so love it if you would come share some of this inspiration at Making Broken Beautiful over at The Curator’s Collection! The party runs every Thursday thru Sunday and has just started. You do amazing work and I do hope you will come inspire! I hope you have an amazing day!
    Smiles!
    Terry
    The Curator’s Collection & Making Broken Beautiful Thursday

    Reply

  8. Amanda @ The Kolb Corner

    I love the look of the planked sides and was surprised to learn you used paint sticks. Pinned! Thank you for sharing at Merry Monday!

    Reply

  11. CD Loken

    What a SUPER creative and inexpensive way to transform a piece of furniture! GENIUS!! Pinning and sharing! Thank you so much for sharing at The Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop!

    Reply

  13. Debrashoppeno5

    The nightstand turned out just right. What a clever idea to use paint sticks. Plus it looks good with the stain wood and painted wood. It is a classic look.

    Reply

    • Kristi

      Thanks so much Terry for the lovely comment. I had no idea how it would turn out when I started it, but I love it. I appreciate your visit. Have a great weekend. 🙂

      Reply

    • Kristi

      Thanks Allie! I just used plain old Elmer’s wood glue. I did add a weight on each section as I glued them though, and I’ve not had any problems with it. Hope that helps.

      Good luck, hope your project turns out. I’d love to see it when you’re done.

      Reply

  16. lovebargains

    I absolutely love your night stand. I was just wondering why you didn’t put the stained wood sticks on the top? I think that would have looked really really good. It still is very nice perhaps on another one you can try putting them on the top. Best wishes

    Reply

  21. Glenna @ My Paper Craze

    How clever! I love how this turned out. I would never have thought to use paint sticks. Thanks for sharing with Creative Spark Link Party.
    Glenna @ My Paper Craze

    Reply

  22. Bobbi

    What a nifty idea!! How creative!! Love the look of the wood and white. I am looking for ideas for my bedroom furniture. Even though they’re wood…after seeing this, I think the color I want to go with is White. I could somewhat have the same look!!

    Thanks for sharing!!

    Pinning it!

    Reply

    • Kristi

      Thanks so much Bobbi! I think that painting your bedroom furniture with some white and leaving some wood would look great. Would love to see it. I appreciate you visiting and commenting and pinning! 🙂
      K.

      Reply

  24. Gwen

    Hi Kristi! I just wanted to let you know that I LOVE your Paint Stick Nightstand, and I’m featuring you as one of my Rockstars this week from Creativity Unleashed!

    As a Rockstar you’re in the running for this week’s MEGA Rockstar! Grab your friends and come vote at http://www.theboldabode.com/2014/07/letters-rockstars-creativity-unleashed-week-30.html

    The MEGA Rockstar gets loads of love including:

    1. Shout outs on all my social media houses.
    2. A bucket full of Pins to my biggest group boards
    3. A big sidebar ad proclaiming them the MEGA Rockstar of the week
    4. And a feature in my weekly newsletter!

    Congratulations and Good Luck!!!

    Reply

  26. Shelly

    Stopping by from That DIY Party….This looks great! I love paint sticks but I never thought of using them like this! Great idea! Following you on social media – love if you’d follow back however you like!

    [email protected] Domestic Heart

    Reply

  27. Natasha in Oz

    Wow, it looks completely different..in a great way! You did a fabulous job!

    My weekly Say G’Day Saturday linky party is on right now and this would be a wonderful addition. Please stop by and say g’day if you have a minute!

    Best wishes,
    Natasha in Oz

    Reply

  28. JaneEllen

    I have to say I absolutely love look of your night stand and even better that you redid a piece you already had. Don’t know how much night stand at West Elm was but guessing enough to take family out to dinner? You did such an awesome job on that night stand, I’d sure buy if you were selling. The style and changes you made on it really give the stand interesting style and look. Pinning this so I don’t forget.
    I have a table I got at Hobby Lobby years ago, want to change it to go with style/colors when we paint our bedroom. Right now it’s dark all over with dark wicker fronts on drawers. Will figure out how to include your idea into redoing the table. Room will be coral walls with apple green furniture, maybe some white, still thinking about that part. I might have to try your idea on table in living room, like things to have different slant. Your table is such wonderful inspiration. Happy summer days

    Reply

    • Kristi

      What a nice comment Jane Ellen. Thanks so much. The West End nightstand was pretty expensive, more than I wanted to spend for a guest room, so I’m glad that my little project worked out and I didn’t have to spend any money.
      It sounds like you have some great ideas for your bedroom. I hope that you are able to try this project. I would love to hear about it and see pictures if you do!
      I appreciate your visit. Happy summer days to you.:)
      K.

      Reply

  31. Megan

    I love the idea of using paint sticks. I really like to look it adds to the nightstand. I am in love with dark walnut stain and white, I am going to be using this combination on my kitchen table. Great work!

    Reply

    • Kristi

      Hi Megan. I love dark walnut stain and white too. Something about the contrast that makes it interesting. Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Good luck with your kitchen table.
      K.

      Reply

  33. Judy

    You are such a clever girl. What a great idea. I love the classy look of the dark against the clean white.. And you would never imagine that it was paint sticks..Great job..Happy Thursday..Judy

    Reply

  35. At Rivercrest Cottage

    I was already looking around at my furniture half way through your post, trying to find a victim for this creative look! Can you tell I love it? thanks for sharing.

    Reply

  36. Treshea Johnson

    I absolutely love this Re-Use Project. Your idea has inspired me to use this with pallet wood on Kitchen Cabinets that we got for free. When we made an island out of them there wasn’t a back and I have been trying to figure out something to do. THANK YOU!!

    Reply

    • Kristi

      So glad that my idea could inspire you Treshea. It sounds like your island is going to look great. I would love to see it after you’re finished. Thanks so much for reading and for your nice comment.
      K.

      Reply

  40. Sarah @ Little Red Brick House

    How creative! I would have never thought to do that. I like how the wood tones down the traditional look of the night stands just a bit. Great job!

    Reply

    • Kristi

      Thanks so much Sarah! I think that I like that it tones down the traditional look too. I wasn’t sure it would work, but I’m glad that it did. Thanks for stopping by.
      K.

      Reply

  41. Shirlee

    I really like it. Very clever idea using the paint sticks. I always grab an extra one when buying paint but I always end up losing them by the time we reach the truck. I think they slide out of the shopping cart and end up either on the store floor or parking lot.
    Nice that you could use something you already had instead of having to buy something new.

    Reply

  42. Emily

    Wow, genius! I really love it! I just shared my dresser makeover and have been looking for inspiration on redoing my night stands. My mom has almost the exact night stand…. I may have to work this magic on it next time I’m there (or steal it…..)

    Reply

    • Kristi

      Thanks Emily. I’m loving the dresser that you redid. I like that you didn’t paint the top, that contrast makes it more interesting. I say steal the nightstand 😉 I would love to see what you do with it. Thanks so much for visiting.
      K.

      Reply

  44. Jennie @ Got My Reservations

    This is so creative and beautiful. Would you consider using a stained pull now to carry the dark sides across the front of the piece?

    Reply

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