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Master Bedroom Bedside Table Makeover: ORC Week 6

We are now on week 6 of our master bedroom makeover for the One Room Challenge! This week I finished off a pair of bedside table makeovers using General Finishes milk paint, and I’m going to show you how to do it yourself.

how to use general finishes milk paint. Lime green bedside table makeovers

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Week 1 – Plans |  Week 2 – Trim  | Week 3 – Polka dot wall | Week 4 – Bed Makeover | Week 5 – Linens

Before Pictures

You can see our bedside tables from our before pictures in week 1. The bedside tables were a pair that were given to us several years ago. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with them, they served us well for a lot of years. But I always felt they were too big for our bedroom in our new house, and I wanted something that matched our other furniture better.

master bedroom makeover

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Yard Sale Tables

Then I just so happened to find a pair of old, dirty, ugly side tables at a yard sale. They were five dollars for the pair!! I didn’t even barter.

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These tables had a laminate top that were quite ugly, and knew they could be perfect for our bedroom.

yardsale bedside table makeover

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These tables were smaller and shorter than our old bedside tables, and fit better with the smaller scale of our bedroom. I could get rid of the old tops, make new cherry tops that would match our other cherry furniture that Tony built, and paint the tables a bright color to really contrast against the other neutrals in the room.

I’m going to show you how I did just that!

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1. Clean and Prepare

To start with, I first removed the old tabletops. Then I used my palm sander with 80 grit paper to remove a lot of the old paint. I didn’t remove it completely, but just enough to create a smooth surface.
You should always wear a mask when you sand so you don’t breath in any dust. Protect those lungs!
I used a couple different grits, and finished off sanding with 220 grit. Then I used my air compressor to blow off any dust, and wiped down the surface with a damp rag to remove any remaining particles.

bedside table makeovers

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2. Prime Your Furniture

Priming really helps create that perfect finish when you do a furniture makeover. I have never regretted priming. It makes a smooth surface for your final paint color, and ensures even coverage.

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After my bedside tables were sanded and clean, I applied two coats of the General Finishes stain blocker using a paint brush. I sanded in between coats with 220 grit paper. Sanding knocks off any dust particles that may have settled, and makes the finish so smooth.

 

how to prime furniture

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3. Mix Up Your Paint Color

For these end tables, I wanted a very pale shade of green. To get my desired color, I mixed up 10 parts General Finishes Snow White milk paint, 1 part Lime Green milk paint, and a very small amount of Persian Blue milk paint just to muddy up the color a bit. I’m not sure if the Persian Blue changed the color too much, but the color turned out to be exactly what I was hoping for with this ratio.
general finishes milk paint
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4. Paint Your Furniture

I painted my bedside tables with two coats of the lime green paint mix. I applied it using a brush…
using milk paint for furniture…and smoothed out the brush marks with a roller.
general finishes milk paint makeover
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After letting the first coat dry for several hours. I did a very light sand with 400 sandpaper, and then did the second coat of paint
milk paint furniture
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5. Seal the Paint

The General Finishes milk paint is very durable and doesn’t need to be sealed, unless it’s a high use piece of furniture. However, I wanted to give these pieces a very smooth and durable finish, while still keeping the matte luster.
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I applied three coats of the High Performance top coat in the flat finish using a foam brush, sanding in between coats with 400 grit sandpaper.

general finishes high performance top coat

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6. Solid Wood Table Tops

And finally, Tony made some solid cherry tops for the tables to match the two cherry dressers that he built several years ago. He started with 1.5″ solid boards of cherry, used the jointer and the planer to make them flat and square. Then he cut them up into 20 inch long pieces.
cherry table tops
I glued the cherry pieces together using wood glue, and clamped them together.
woodworking with solid cherry
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Tony routered the edges, then I sanded the tops using a palm sander and several different sandpaper grits. The color of cherry wood is so beautiful that we didn’t stain them. Tony sealed them by spraying several coats of clear lacquer.green bedside table
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Bedside Table Makeovers Using Milk Paint

I love how these turned out! I think the color is perfect for our bedroom. The finish is so smooth and I got such a professional finish with the General Finishes milk paint.

green bedside table makeover general finishes milk paint

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milk paint bedside table. General Finishes. Furniture makeover

lime green bedside table using general finishes milk paint

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bedside table makeover using general finishes lime green milk paint

I also spray painted the hardware using weathered steel spray paint to match the hardware on our other dressers in the bedroom.

lime green bedside table

lime green and blue master bedroom

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green bedside table makeover

Have you ever used general finishes milk paint? What do you think of the color I chose? This is a fairly bold color for me, but I love how it turned out.

jewel tone master bedroom

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green blue and pink master bedroom

general finishes lime milk paint

*General Finishes supplied me with materials for this bedside table makeover. I have used General Finishes products in the past for some of my projects, and have loved it. All opinions are my own, I only recommend products I use and love*

general finishes green milk paint

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Next week I’ll be sharing how I pull this whole room together. Sign up for email below so you don’t miss it!

Back to the One Room Challenge to check out some of the other amazing room makeovers

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  3. Tee says

    I love the color you chose for the side table. Also, great tutoria! This room is looking great. Can’t wait to see the full reveal next week!

    Reply

  4. Amanda Strickland says

    I love that you took a piece of furniture that looked ready for the garbage and make it into something beautiful! They had great “bones” but you really have to have good vision to see that! Awesome!

    Reply

  6. Kat says

    Holy smokes! I can hardly believe those are the same end tables. My favorite part is the new wooden tops. Way to bring new life into something that was almost discarded. Happy last week of ORC!

    Reply

  8. Jen@ Jenron-Designs says

    Wow these nightstand turned out great!!! I love the color you picked, so bright, and really adds a pop of color to the room. It is awesome that they provided you with the milk paint, I have yet to get sponsors for anything….LOL

    Reply

  14. Janet says

    The lime green and navy are beautiful together. A really awesome job! The table tops are the crowning of the project!

    Reply

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