Blue Slate Nightstand

This is going to be another quick post. I still have about 6 more projects to post and we are getting ready to move into our booth at Homestead Handcrafts tomorrow so we are trying to catch up with furniture rehabbing.This little piece I found at Goodwill. I know that most French Provincial style furniture is usually designed to an antique and feminine style, but I wanted to try something different to see if it was possible to give French Provincial pieces a solid color style with a masculine or neutral color palette.

I was really surprised at the condition of the piece. For the price I paid, I was expecting it to need a lot more work. The drawers were fine, the top was a little scratched up, and aside from the minor dings and scratches and wear and tear of probably 20 years of damage, the only thing needing repairs was the missing veneer piece at the bottom. Plus the previous owner decided to “square” out the feet on this piece and sawed off the round feet. Really disappointing that someone would do that but I definitely had to design the piece in a way that would not attract attention to the feet.

We stripped the top, sanded out the imperfections and used Rustoleum’s “Dark Walnut” as a stain for the top. Whenever there is useable/stainable wood, we try not to paint over it. Thats just my personal rule. For the base, we rough sanded it to get the glossy finish off and used two coats of The Fat Paint Co.’s “Blue Slate.” This is really a lovely color because it is medium toned blue with grey undertones. The paint itself is awesome as it’s very smooth, easy to sand and dries very quickly!

The missing veneer was painted over and you can’t even tell there was a missing chunk. I lined the drawers with the only liner I had. Can’t say it compliments it too well, but the drawers were a mess inside.

I updated the hardware by using an oil- rubbed bronze spray paint. I always seal it with a crystal clear enamel because even though the can says you don’t need to, eventually it will chip. The enamel acts as a top coat and protectant for it.

Lastly, the whole piece was sealed in two coats of Minwax Polycrylic. I can’t say this is my favorite poly for furniture because it dries quickly, the bubbles seem to always find their way into the surface and the brush strokes are evident. I would recommend this poly for small projects like sealing distressed wood, wood crafts, and signs, but definitely not on furniture.

Overall, Im satisfied with the way it came out. I’m not sure my masculine color palette suits it well but it sold in less than a couple days so Ill chalk this up to a learning experience and try to remember French Provincial is curvy and girly for a reason.