I've mentioned that Corey and I decided against matchy-matchy nightstands and instead decided to embrace our very different styles. While mine is more traditional and elegant, Corey wanted something more masculine and industrial.
For comfort, we wanted both nightstands to hit the top of our mattress (26") and, for when we have children, Corey thought a locking drawer may have practical uses. While I priced some vintage filing cabinets with lots of patina on Craigslist, they were quite expensive and not the right height. This left us certain that we would need to make something.
We drew some inspiration from this Restoration Hardware Nightstand but Corey loved the "filing cabinet look" and wanted something taller. He is also more partial to silver coloured metals, rather than gold tones.
Still, it gave us a place to start. It was clear pretty quickly that the Ikea Erik File Cabinet (shown below) was a good option for Corey. It wasn't tall enough but that can be easily remedied.
Just look at all those drawers! I always forget how much guys need a place to put all the stuff from their pockets. Until they all start carrying purses, (fingers crossed, this will happen one day) they need some good bedroom storage. Look at Corey's nightstand when we were using a pair of mid-century modern teak end tables:
... And I can't even blame him since that's what my purse looks like. Needless to say, we are both excited for the drawers.
We still needed an industrial finish, so we drew inspiration from this tutorial by Simplicity in the South. It was great and it really gave us a place to start. She even mentions a technique to add faux rivets for a REAL industrial feel but we were kind of indifferent about the rivets so we skipped them. We also simplified the tutorial a little.
First, we assembled the cabinet without the casters that it came with. We'll save the casters in case we can use them in another project.
We used:
- Sandpaper
- Mineral Spirits
- Paint Brushes
- Cloths
- Sponge
- Blackboard Paint
- Silver Spray Rust Paint
Then, I sanded all the surfaces (with 150 grit sandpaper) and wiped them down with mineral spirits.
Then Corey screwed some 2X6 pieces of wood to the base in order to bump up the height a little.
We then roughly brushed the surfaces with blackboard paint. Every 30 seconds or so, we wiped everything down with a dry cloth to remove excess paint and give them a dull, worn look. We were not trying for full coverage except over the wood.
By the time we were finished with the blackboard paint, it was already dry. We sprayed some of the silver rust paint into a container and added a few drops of water. We used the sponge (blotting off excess first) to wipe it across the surfaces. Be careful to wipe in a uniform direction.
This was a simple project. We seriously completed this while Corey was BBQ-ing dinner. We love the end result as it is, but we may choose to add some wax (with a few drops of black paint) for some extra depth and protection.
The finish is actually a little more subtle in person and Corey certainly is happy to have a "real" nightstand for a change!
