Still working..

Not sure what I was smoking when I estimated I would have a finished nightstand to show today. Clearly, I vastly overestimated my ability and underestimated time available. But I am not deterred! I just need a little more time to finish up. In the meantime, he is what was done so far.



I'll apologize for my crap photos. The lighting in the box room (which you will notice is no where near cleared out. Oh procrastination, you are my nemesis!) isn't ideal and I didn't want to reposition while I was painting. I'll get a better photo when its all finished.

First off came those beautiful little handles. After a brief pass with an old toothbrush, I let them soak in hot water to loosen the paint.



Then I turned my focus on the nightstand. I started off with a rub down of TSP solution. (Sounds sexy, doesn't it?) Thanks to Jennifer for the tip. I'm not sure the scientific explanation of what this stuff does but its certainly a good cleanser. After the cleaning, I broke out my hand sander and roughed her up (Again, hot furniture loving!) to prepare for the paint.



As for the paint color, I thought about going out and getting a medium gray shade. Then I remembered I had an unopened can of a gray laying around. Back in April, I bought a quart of Martha Stewart's Bedford Gray to use on the guestroom desk.

I guess my procrastination is a theme in this post because I never did get around to painting that desk. So this can of paint was waiting for me. It's a little lighter than the chip would suggest or what I would have preferred but so be it.

After the sanding dust cleared, I used a brush to get into all the nooks and crannies that a roller wouldn't cover.

Then I put on two coats with the roller so it was entirely gray

I'm pretty happy with the color as a base.

Then as I was watching paint dry, I got the idea in my head that I might as well paint the chair too. I always meant to paint this chair a solid color and then reupholster the seat with the custom fabric from Spoonflower I ordered as a test many months ago. (See what I mean about procrastination!)

What a pain in the ass! There are so many crevices in that chair.

It was at this point I had to decide how Im going to detail the nightstand. Should I use a cream or gold paint? Despite my obsession with gold paint, I picked cream in honor of my inspiration photo. So once that was all dry, I broke out a container of cream acrylic paint and tiny brushes. Trying my best to keep a steady hand, I started to apply some highlights to the details.


This is what is really holding up the works. Its slow going. At about 6pm last night, I realized I needed to put the brushes away for now as I had a stiff neck and Mr. Limestone was ready with dinner and a movie. I'll need at least another day or two of focus to get this all completed but its coming along. I'll be sure to update you when I'm all done.

After the movie was over and I checked that the chair paint was dry, I decided I should just finish this one project for my own sanity. I quickly cut and stapled the batting and fabric to the seat and voila.

Its the exact same color as the nightstand but I'm not nearly as pleased with it. Scratch that, what I really mean is I hate it! The color is all wrong. So after all that, I now know I need to paint this chair black. I guess that doesn't mean the work was entirely wasted but its no less annoying!

Oh well, try, try again.