stained

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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.

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…

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

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)

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.

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.

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.

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.

The glaze is really simple to apply.

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

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

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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.

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I think this piece would make a great media console.