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Rain on a Tin Roof

DIY and Home Decor Blog. Fly Your Freak Flag.

You are here: Home >> Furniture Makeovers >> Mid-Century Modern Dressing Table Makeover

September 26, 2017 By Jenna 28 Comments

Mid-Century Modern Dressing Table Makeover

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Mid-Century Modern Dressing Table Makeover - a painted and stained furniture makeover combination with Velvet Finishes.

This post is sponsored by Velvet Finishes, however all opinions are 100% mine. Affiliate links may be included in this post, which means if you purchase something through one of those links, I may earn a small commission, but you won’t pay a dime more.

This project is the kind of project that keeps me going sometimes. It’s just another furniture makeover. Nothing groundbreaking. Nothing phenomenal. I won’t be able to fill up my retirement account with it.

But this little mid-century modern dressing table makeover made me feel a little bit better about the past few weeks I’ve been having.

Mid-Century Modern Dressing Table Makeover - a painted and stained furniture makeover combination with Velvet Finishes.

About four out of five projects I’ve had on my to-do list either didn’t happen, didn’t go as planned at all or just flat out went up in smoke.

And then this little piece came along and renewed my hope in my DIY self.

I started with this…

Before: Mid-Century Modern Dressing Table Makeover - a painted and stained furniture makeover combination with Velvet Finishes.

I’ve had this piece for a while and found her at a rummage sale. Judging from the holes on top of her and space in the middle, I think she was once a beautiful mid-century modern dressing table with a mirror across her top.

Now, I’m not usually one to paint wood that’s in good condition. The funny thing about this piece was that her top and sides were in really rough condition, lots of nicks, scratches and of course, those holes on top where a mirror once was, but the drawers were in excellent condition. Oh, the glorious drawers – aren’t the details on them just beautiful!

So I thought about it for a while and knowing that I really didn’t want to cover up those drawers with paint that were in great condition, I instead opted to just paint the top and sides of this piece and leave the drawers untouched.

And it turned out perfectly – went off without a hitch – in just a day.

See how my faith was restored now?

Mid-Century Modern Dressing Table Makeover

Tools & Supplies

Mid-Century Modern Dressing Table Makeover - a painted and stained furniture makeover combination with Velvet Finishes.

I used:

  • Velvet Finishes Ready
  • Velvet Finishes Handsome
  • Velvet Finishes Enhance Dark Glaze
  • The Reviver Paint Brush
  • Painting and Staining Rags
  • FrogTape
  • Wood Putty and Sandpaper (if you have any nicks, scratches or holes to repair)

Steps

Step 1

First, I filled those holes on top of the table and fixed any deep scratches, dents and dings that were there as well. I used wood filler and sandpaper to smooth it out. There’s a tutorial here for how to fill holes.

Step 2

Next, I removed the drawers and taped off around the edges of the trim that went around those – I wanted to keep that part stained as well.

Mid-Century Modern Dressing Table Makeover - a painted and stained furniture makeover combination with Velvet Finishes.

Basically, I just wanted to paint the exterior frame of the table. I also ran FrogTape along the upper part of the legs to make sure I didn’t accidentally get paint on them.

Step 3

This piece had a bit of shiny topcoat left on it where I was planning to paint, so I needed to remove that in order to get my paint to adhere well to the surface there. To do this, I used Ready.

Mid-Century Modern Dressing Table Makeover - a painted and stained furniture makeover combination with Velvet Finishes.

I just sprayed it on the top and sides of the table, let it sit for a few minutes, then wiped it down with a clean cloth. This removes the shine and cleans at the same time. I was careful not to get the Ready on any part that wasn’t getting painted though.

Step 4

After that, I gave the piece two coats of Velvet Finishes Handsome, which is a perfect navy color.

Mid-Century Modern Dressing Table Makeover - a painted and stained furniture makeover combination with Velvet Finishes.

I just brushed the color right onto the piece with one of the Reviver series paint brushes. Paint glides on really smoothly with these brushes.

Step 5

Since stained wood has so many different variations in its finish, I didn’t want a stark contrast between the navy painted top and sides and the stained drawers on this piece. So to add more dimension to the painted portions, I applied Enhance Dark Glaze to the painted portions after the paint had dried.

Mid-Century Modern Dressing Table Makeover - a painted and stained furniture makeover combination with Velvet Finishes.

The glaze is really simple to apply.

Mid-Century Modern Dressing Table Makeover - a painted and stained furniture makeover combination with Velvet Finishes.

You just brush it on, let it sit for a minute or two, then gently wipe the excess away.

Mid-Century Modern Dressing Table Makeover - a painted and stained furniture makeover combination with Velvet Finishes.

You want to wipe it away very lightly. I ended up doing two rounds of the Enhance glaze to get the look I wanted.

Mid-Century Modern Dressing Table Makeover - a painted and stained furniture makeover combination with Velvet Finishes.

Similar Gun Bookends

Enhance Glaze also works as a topcoat, so even though Velvet Finishes paint already has a topcoat built-in, this piece will have even more added protection. Isn’t the depth the glaze added gorgeous? I love it with the Handsome paint.

Mid-Century Modern Dressing Table Makeover - a painted and stained furniture makeover combination with Velvet Finishes.

Similar Snakeskin Lamp

I think this piece would make a great media console.

Mid-Century Modern Dressing Table Makeover - a painted and stained furniture makeover combination with Velvet Finishes.

Similar Snakeskin Lamp / Similar Gun Bookends

Cheers to a project finally going off without a hitch, friends!

You might also want to see…

How to Turn a Side Table into a Bench

How to Make Furniture Glaze in Any Color

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Filed Under: Furniture Makeovers Tagged With: mid-century, painted, stained, velvet finishes

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Comments

  1. ~Monica~ says

    September 26, 2017 at 12:00 pm

    Curious if you did anything to the drawers to clean them up a bit? What product do you use to clean dingy wood surfaces?

    What an interesting piece and that colour added to it just made it awesome! Turned out amazing! My favourite part are the legs, such a neat design!

    Reply
    • Jenna says

      September 29, 2017 at 7:41 am

      Nope, I didn’t do a thing to the drawers besides wiping them down with a dust cloth. They were in excellent condition.

      Reply
  2. Brigitte says

    September 26, 2017 at 1:31 pm

    Just beautiful! And those LEGS!! ! Swoon! I love the color you put on it, the piece really pops with the color of the drawers against what you painted. Another win!

    Reply
    • Jenna says

      September 29, 2017 at 7:41 am

      Thanks so much, Brigitte! I love those legs too!

      Reply
  3. Pam S says

    September 26, 2017 at 1:37 pm

    That piece, my fine feathered friend, would make a great ANYTHING!!! Go ahead, ask me if I’m coveting your MCM furniture! (I am)

    Reply
    • Jenna says

      September 29, 2017 at 7:41 am

      haha!! Thanks, girl!

      Reply
  4. Shirley says

    September 26, 2017 at 2:25 pm

    Great job Jenna! It would have been a shame to paint the drawers but the blue on the top & sides really enhances it. You have styled it lovely.

    Reply
    • Jenna says

      September 29, 2017 at 7:38 am

      Thanks so much, Shirley! I felt the same way about the drawers!

      Reply
  5. Susan the Farm Quilter says

    September 26, 2017 at 3:23 pm

    It turned out great!! The top almost looks like you stained it blue with the depth the wax finish gave it!! Have you ever played with Unicorn Spit?

    Reply
    • Jenna says

      September 29, 2017 at 7:38 am

      Thanks, Susan! I love the depth that glaze added! I haven’t ever even heard of Unicorn Spit, but it sounds interesting!

      Reply
  6. Deirdre says

    September 26, 2017 at 6:20 pm

    Wow! This is gorgeous! Love the lamps too.

    Reply
    • Jenna says

      September 29, 2017 at 7:37 am

      Thanks, Deirdre! Those lamps are some of my faves!

      Reply
  7. Anne Coles says

    September 26, 2017 at 9:58 pm

    I just love it! Haven’t had any good weather to be able to do some painting, as yet. Maybe next week!

    Reply
    • Jenna says

      September 29, 2017 at 7:37 am

      Thanks, Anne! I know how that goes! It’s been nearly too hot here to do any painting – I just drip sweat in my paint! haha! I think it’s finally supposed to cool down soon though and I am ready!

      Reply
  8. Bonnie Schafer says

    September 27, 2017 at 8:47 am

    What a fabulous piece, Jenna! This kind of reminds me of an office desk too – the chair spaces were smaller back then, but the legs are slender – wow – nice pice of furniture for sure!

    Great job!!

    Reply
    • Jenna says

      September 29, 2017 at 7:36 am

      Same here, Bonnie! I tested it out to see if it would work as a desk, but I found myself hunching over too much. 🙁

      Reply
  9. Samantha says

    September 27, 2017 at 3:55 pm

    Love how this turned out!! I’ve been looking for a piece like this(that’s in my budget) for a while. It’s beautiful!

    Reply
    • Jenna says

      September 29, 2017 at 7:32 am

      Thanks, Samantha! I really love the way it looks too!

      Reply
  10. Patty says

    September 28, 2017 at 9:46 pm

    OMG, that turned out so dang gorgeous. That blue is so beautiful and then you topped it with the glaze and how gorgeous is that. Great job Jenna.

    Reply
    • Jenna says

      September 29, 2017 at 7:30 am

      Thanks, Patty! I really love the combination too!

      Reply
  11. Victoria @DazzleWhileFrazzled says

    October 1, 2017 at 9:07 am

    So awesome! We are constantly on the look for such cool MCM pieces. Love the addition of the blue paint and the fact that you got the project done in a day!! Our projects tend to linger in the garage, 😮 Visiting from Happiness Is Homemade party.

    Reply
    • Jenna says

      October 20, 2017 at 10:02 am

      Thanks so much, Victoria!

      Reply
  12. Claire says

    October 3, 2017 at 2:17 am

    I love the colour that you have chosen and the way you have done this paint on the top and edges.

    Reply
    • Jenna says

      October 20, 2017 at 10:00 am

      Thanks, Claire!

      Reply
  13. Trisha @ Blowing Away Out West says

    October 6, 2017 at 3:52 pm

    I really like how you kept the vintage feel by not completely repainting it. Also, love, love, love the navy!

    Reply
    • Jenna says

      October 20, 2017 at 9:54 am

      Thanks so much, Trisha!

      Reply
  14. Karen Jerread says

    November 2, 2017 at 8:08 am

    Absolutely love what you did with this piece but then I am be a bit partial!– mwb.

    Reply
    • Jenna says

      November 7, 2017 at 12:42 pm

      hahaha!! Thanks, Karen!

      Reply

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