Hi Friends,

I was dying to tell you all about my latest project. Every once and a while I fall in love with a piece I’ve painted. This French Provincial nightstand is one of them.  I found it at the Goodwill Store near my house, and it was in incredibly good shape, except for some ugly scratches on its top. I snapped it up and, for a couple of months, I waited for that moment of inspiration that always happens when I finally decide to tackle a piece.

Here is the before picture. Perfection, right?

What triggered the inspiration was a challenge proposed in one of the Facebook groups I belong. Dionne (the group owner) challenged us to find a color inspiration on Pinterest, magazine, or any other source, then paint a piece of furniture inspired by that.

This was my color inspiration picture. I guess I don’t want summer to end.

I had a bunch of chalk paint leftovers from previous projects, including a beautiful minty green that I ended up never using. This was the perfect project for them.

Once again, I went for the blending technique, which is my current obsession as you might have noticed.

Here is how it looks now.

I love how it turned out!

And if you are wondering how I did it, I have good news! I made a full video tutorial for you. Have five minutes? So check it out!

I will give you the step by step here too, but it is always more effective to watch “the action”. At least I learn better that way.

These are the supplies I used for this project. I’m adding some affiliate links* in case you choose to purchase them online.

• Electric Sander
• Sandpaper
• Clear Shellac Spray
• General Finishes Antique White
• Americana Décor Chalky Finish Paint Refreshing (mint)
• Americana Décor Chalky Finish Paint Treasure (teal)
• Americana Décor Chalky Finish Paint Keepsake (dark green)
• Americana Décor Chalky Paint Everlasting (white)
• Chip Brushes
• Paper plate
• A spray bottle of water
• General Finishes Water Based Top Coat
• Paint Sprayer
• Modern Masters Champagne
• Modern Masters Oyster

And here is how I did it.

I started by sanding down the top with an electric sander until it was completely smooth.

The other areas of the nightstand were in perfect shape so I just sanded it lightly with 120 grit sandpaper, then cleaned the whole piece with a mix of water and vinegar.

Next, I primed it with a coat of clear shellac.

I grabbed all four colors of chalk paint and poured a little blob of each one on my paper plate.

Then I sprayed water on my brush, then dabbed it on my plate making sure to get a touch all the colors. You don’t want your colors to blend together on the bristles. The blending will happen on the piece, while you are brushing back and forth in a linear motion.

I started by painting the top using all the colors in the same proportion. I then moved on to the sides and, since I wanted an ombré finish, I tried to get mostly the green and teal for the higher areas, with just a few hints of mint and white. I tried to do most of my strokes in one direction. From the top, halfway down to the bottom, because I wanted the lower areas to have less paint.

I kept my brush wet during the whole project, by spraying water at it every few minutes.

I used a clean brush to start working with my light colors, mint, and white. This time I did the opposite and started brushing from the bottom, stopping halfway to the top, in order to get a smooth transition between the dark and the light areas.

I repeated the process on the other side and the front.

To avoid hard streaks of paint, I went over the surface with a clean, wet brush, before the paint was dry. That caused some drips of dark colors over my light area and to solve that I just went back with a clean, dry brush and removed the excess of water.

When I was happy with the result, I waited a couple of hours for it to dry, then sprayed three coats of General Finishes Top Coat, satin.

I blended two very delicate metallic colors for the pulls. Modern Masters Champagne and Oyster and I think the new colors were the perfect match for this piece.

And now, have fun with all the pictures!

By the way, this nightstand is for sale on my Etsy Shop (*Update*. Sold) .

Thank you so much for reading!

Pat

I’m sharing this post on these awesome link parties!

To Grandma’s House, We Go!

Silver Pennies Sunday Link Party

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Tuesday with a Twist

That DIY Party

Talk of the Town

Salvaged Junk Projects 

Penny Pinching Party

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*When you purchase an item from my affiliate link, I receive a small commission. There is no additional cost for you.