I mentioned in this post that our Master Bedroom is a bit small. Someday I’ll get my act together and post a floor plan of our teensy house so you believe me. For now, just know that our home’s entire livable space is 882 square feet. Which just means that we need to be creative about a few things. Clothing storage is one of them, and in addition to our built-in shelves and a shared closet, we decided that we needed our bedside tables to double as dressers. But DAG! Bedside tables are expensive!  And after scouring furniture stores and Craigslist, I found that most pieces are either on Team Tiny Nightstand or Team Full Blown Dresser. We had 36″ on either side of our queen-sized bed to work with so I needed to find something more like this:

arch-blue-three-drawer-chest

Unfortunately, these guys weren’t available when we were redoing our bedroom, but at $500 a pop they would have been over my budget anyway. So I headed to my local antique and thrift shops and after a couple stops I came across these beauties:

before-dressers

I was drawn to their clean lines, quality construction and interesting pulls. Plus, I was psyched to find a matching pair (although I was open to rocking the mix + match look). Measuring 32″ x 20″ x 31″ they were the perfect dimensions for our space. And with a $500 price tag for the pair, I was scoring a pretty good deal for this muy importante piece of furniture compared to the options at the big retailers. SOLD.

The only snag was that they smelled a little funky, the wood finish was in bad shape and the pulls had been painted by a previous owner. To get rid of the musty smell, I wiped them inside and out with a solution of (very) diluted bleach and then set them outside to bake in the sun for a full day. There are a million suggestions online for curing musty smells, by the way. Anyone ever tried kitty litter?

To rehab the finish, I decided to give them a few coats of white semigloss paint (White Dove by Benjamin Moore) and to highlight those great pulls with a gray-green sample I had leftover from another project (Sag Harbor Gray by Benjamin Moore). Fast forward through a day or two of taping and painting and not taking “in progress” pics…

Here’s My Side:

my-side-after

And here’s James’ Side:

james-side-after

No, he did not voluntarily put a picture of us on our wedding day or a book about birds on his nightstand. Also, that plant does not usually live there, but it made the picture look a’nice. Whoever decorates decides what’s what.

We’re still pretty happy with our dressers two years later. Yay for Before + After projects!

Loveyoubye, Maggie

 

 

14 Comments on Before + After – Bedside Tables

  1. Betsy Racette
    04/13/2014 at 1:15 PM (11 years ago)

    Now with time and tablet- able to browse- super makeover! Cool,clean, inviting

    Love,
    Betsy

    Reply
  2. Mary
    04/11/2014 at 6:00 PM (11 years ago)

    You did a fabulous job!!!!! Do you mind me asking…where you found the great bedside tables?

    Reply
    • Maggie Natarelli
      04/11/2014 at 6:52 PM (11 years ago)

      Why, thank you, Mary! I found this pair at Carol Master Antiques in Tarrytown, NY. Are you nearby? They have great stuff!

      Reply
  3. holly
    04/11/2014 at 1:32 PM (11 years ago)

    You scored on those night stands. They look incredible after you painted them.

    Reply
    • Maggie Natarelli
      04/11/2014 at 1:53 PM (11 years ago)

      I’m so glad you like them, Holly! Thank you!

      Reply
  4. Mary Engelbreit
    04/11/2014 at 1:03 PM (11 years ago)

    Loved your comment about what James did or did not put on his bedside table!

    Reply
    • Maggie Natarelli
      04/11/2014 at 1:08 PM (11 years ago)

      Oh, Mary, if it were left up to him it would be a ball of receipts, some spare change and a stack of clean laundry that needs to be put away. BOYS.

      Reply
  5. hfitzpa
    04/11/2014 at 1:28 AM (11 years ago)

    Wait. These are amazing!!!!!

    Reply
    • Maggie Natarelli
      04/11/2014 at 1:06 PM (11 years ago)

      Thanks, Healy! It’s amazing what a little white paint can do, right?!

      Reply
  6. erinelyons
    04/10/2014 at 10:38 PM (11 years ago)

    So jelly! These still look great. Any ideas for 12″ on either side of a bed?

    Reply
  7. dede
    04/10/2014 at 10:00 PM (11 years ago)

    Perfection!
    xox, d

    Reply

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