Nightstand Makeover, Part 3

It is moving day for my daughter so I stayed up late to try and finish this nightstand. Since I didn't have any paper to decoupage onto the inside I chose to paint it in the green temporarily. Terra will probably have books and things in there anyway and it may never get completed, but we'll see.

Last post I had just finished doing all the base coats. Green on the sides and now on the shelves and a maple gold for the trim.

My next step was to varnish it. There are several ways to antique a painted piece, but varnishing first is one of the easiest if you do not have antiquing gel available (which I didn't). The varnish keeps the antique glaze from sticking permanently to the paint. You want it to be easily wiped off in certain areas.
I combined some glazing liquid and a small amount of burnt umber acrylic paint to make a glaze. I painted it on, then carefully but quickly wiped some of it off giving it a mottled look.
For the trim I just painted it straight on and it stayed in the grooves showing off the detail.



For the top I painted the edge with straight burnt umber then went over it with the bronze glaze to keep it from looking too dark and too new.




The top was done in several stages. Paint, stencil, varnish, antique. The glazing mixture I made was painted on then I dabbed a sock over it to create the aged look. The pictures are rather light so it is hard to see the depth.

A closer view of the top.

Here is a picture of the completed side. You can see the antiquing is very light. I tried to keep it mostly along the edges as it would be with a genuinely old piece.

The varnish I used to preserve the paints was in a matte finish. I didn't want any kind of shine to it. I painted 3 coats of varnish. I use washable varnish.

Here are most of the supplies I used. The large can is the glazing liquid I used along with the burnt umber acrylic paint for antiquing.

The metallic glaze is in the bottle. And, of course, wood putty to fill any holes.

I am please with the way it turned out and I love a bargain so this entire piece cost me about $3.50.

Take a walk through your local thrift stores and see what you can find to turn from trash to treasure.