Hand-Painted Chippendale Nightstand Makeover

All DIYDIYHannah's BedroomPainting Furniture

Mar 31

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Posted on March 31, 2020

Making over vintage furniture is one of the best ways to acquire quality pieces for your home at an affordable price. This hand-painted Chippendale nightstand makeover is an example of the power of paint to breathe new life into vintage or antique furniture. This week, I'm finally free to dive into projects around the house now that the girls are on spring break! I chose to kick things off with a hand-painted Chippendale nightstand makeover for Hannah's room.

Vintage Chippendale Nightstands

I found these vintage Chinese Chippendale nightstands a few weeks ago on Facebook Marketplace. They have the most beautiful details, as well as tops made out of some kind of Formica or laminate, which means she can't ruin the finish. I can literally clean the tops with a Magic Eraser.

*This post is not sponsored by Fusion Mineral Paint, but they did provide complimentary supplies for this project. All opinions, content, and words are my own.

chippendale nightstand makeover

Painting Vintage Nightstands

As I was deciding what type of paint and finish I wanted for these nightstands, I happened to notice the hand-painted look my Chippendale dining chairs have. I love the brush strokes and imperfections, even though they came like that straight from Ballard Designs. That imperfect finish is intentional, and it sort of dials down the dressy style of Chippendale furniture.I'm no stranger to painting furniture, and I've used just about every type of paint there is...except Fusion Mineral Paint. I painted my banister with Fusion, so I'm familiar with it, but I had never used it on furniture. You can definitely achieve a smooth finish with Fusion paint, but I knew it would also be perfect for this hand-painted Chippendale nightstand makeover. hand painted nightstand makeover

Here's What I Used

Fusion Mineral Paint in Raw Silk
Staalmeester Brush
Frog Tape
220 Grit Sandpaper
Deft Acrylic Sealer in Satin Finish (Fusion brand top coat shown, but I didn't use it)
Wallpaper
Wallpaper Paste

Hand-Painted Chippendale Nightstand Makeover

I always remove hardware before any furniture painting project. To do this, I use a simple flat head screwdriver. If there are any spots I don't want painted, I tape those off, like I did with the Formica tops. chippendale nightstand makeover

To Sand or Not To Sand

I didn't really need to sand because I was using Fusion Mineral Paint, which sticks to pretty much anything. Because these nightstands were grimy though, I decided to lightly sand. I then used a Magic Eraser to get them squeaky clean. Fusion sells a nontoxic TSP alternative that is great for this step. chippendale nightstand makeover

Painting the Vintage Nightstands

Using the Fusion Mineral paint Staalmeester brush really helped me achieve the hand-painted look I was going for. This is how it looked after three light coats...hand-painted perfection. I love the brush strokes so much! I don't think I've ever said that when painting furniture. Usually I love a smooth, factory finish. Not this time though. chippendale nightstand makeover

Protecting Painted Furniture

My favorite furniture sealer is Deft Acrylic in Satin finish. It's non-yellowing and dries to a nice, not-shiny finish that's so durable. From a distance, the finish looks so buttery smooth. But up close, there's so much wonderful, hand-brushed texture. chippendale nightstand makeover

Lining the Drawers

The inside of the drawers weren't too bad, but they still needed to be cleaned up, so I lined them with wallpaper left over from our office project last year. hand painted nightstand makeover I love when I get to put the hardware back on because it means the project is done and I get to style my furniture piece. chippendale nightstand makeover

The Results

And now for the side-by-side of this hand-painted Chippendale nightstand makeover. Oh how I love a good before and after! vintage nightstand makeover With a little bit of paint and a lot of enthusiasm from a designer trying to make over her teenage-daughter's room, these vintage Chinese Chippendale nightstands have been given a whole new life. This was definitely the vision I had for them, and Hannah loves them, so I'm calling this first project a win...and done.If you want to see how her dresser turned out and how I handled that makeover (hint: it was a fail), click HERE. chippendale nightstand makeover

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You'll have to excuse the detached baseboard and damaged drywall in the background. Vertical shiplap is up next because Hannah's walls have looked like this since we moved in...sigh. Now tell me, have you ever used Fusion Mineral paint to transform a piece of furniture?[mv_create title="Paint Vintage Nightstand " key="3" thumbnail="https://wildflowerhomeinteriors.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/wildflower-home-chippendale-nightstand-makeover-5.jpg" type="diy"]Stay tuned for all the fun changes coming to Hannah's room. If you've missed any of the progress so far, you can catch up here:

Until the next makeover! signature