THRIFTED CABINET TURNED BOY'S NIGHTSTAND

I don't think I will ever tire of seeing furniture makeovers and transforming second-hand finds.  If you're a regular reader, I hope you won't either!

As I've been planning somewhat of a makeover of my son's room, I knew that he needed a smaller nightstand than what he's been using.  However, it still needed to offer plenty of storage for my collection-loving boy.  A few years ago I remember seeing some super glossy filing cabinet-type storage pieces at TJ Maxx, and I remember thinking how easy it would be to find a similar piece at a thrift store.

I easily found a two-drawer filing cabinet for a few dollars and brought it home intending to use it for his nightstand, but when I brought it in to try the size i realized that it was several inches taller than his mattresses and the corners and edges were VERY sharp and hard.  Understandly...it is of course a boxy metal cabinet...but as it sat near the head of his bed all I saw was an accident waiting to happen.  So, that piece moved back out and I started keeping an eye out for something else.

Then, a few months ago I came across this strange piece while thrifting.

At first I didn't give it a second look, but then I remembered I still needed something for Caleb's room.  I checked the measurements and the size was right.  It took me a little while to consider it, mainly just because I was trying to figure it out.  I'd never seen a piece like this before.  The top is a metal file drawer and it fits into a wooden base that seems homemade.  But, it all fit together perfectly and everything worked well so I spent the $10 and took it.

The top is still squared off, however it's wood and not quite as harsh as the other one was so I'm not worried about it being dangerous.

I usually don't spray paint furniture, but since half of this one was metal I did.  I'm so guilty of wanting a piece to look great after the first coat, but with spray painting you truly need to do multiple, thin, light coats to get the best result.

Before I started I sprayed the label square silver.  The top handle was not easy to remove, and I planned to re-use it so I taped it and the now silver label section off once it was dry.

I sprayed the entire piece with Rustoleum's semi-gloss black and replaced the bottom handle with a silver cup pull from Home Depot.  I had some old caster wheels from a thrift store that I added to the bottom.

I'm so happy with how this piece turned out, and with paint and the new hardware the less than $20 price tag makes me even happier.  Now, my son has a handy spot for his lamp and books, and two large drawers for lots of treasures!