Tween Girl Side Table

The first project for the great tween bedroom makeover is complete! Okay, so she's almost 6... not quite a tween but it sure feels like it with every "whatever" and eye roll being flung about. Last week I gave a tour of Kaley's room in it's current "baby" state. She was itching for something a little less pastel and a whole lot brighter. Since her current "nightstand" was really a tiny round plant stand with no storage and no room for even a book, we tackled this problem first. After all, my girl is learning to read and she needs a place to put the book down at night before she dozes off, right?

And, lucky for me... the neighbors were movin' on out (not sure if it was the east side or not) and left this beauty at the curb. Score! Quite scratched but the perfect size.

Ready to go from junk to funk? (Make mental nerd comments, I'll wait)

Supplies:

• Mask - I use 3M tekk respirators made for painting and sanding 
• Medium to fine grit sand paper - I used an oribital sander but plain sand paper would work fine
• Primer - Either spray on or paint on
• Spray Paint - I used Rust-Oleum 

Time to grab the kids and suit up! I promise, they are smiling under the masks.

Step 1: 

Give the entire thing a light sanding. Remove any chipping areas and smooth out rough spots. Encourage children not to fight.

Step 2:

Prime your piece. I used a quick coat of spray primer. Doesn't have to be fully covered and you might need to give it a really light sanding again after the primer dries if it feels gritty.

Step 3:

Patch any chips or damaged spots if you have any. I used 3M Patch Plus Primer on a small chip on the top. Since it was so tiny, it dried in minutes.

Step 4:
Paint away! Paint many light coats and allow them to dry completely in between to avoid the sticky finish afterwards.

I gave this table a week in the garage before I brought it in. Time to get rid of the spray paint smell and to cure. I also find if you give your piece a coat of Pledge or furniture polish before you bring it in, it helps prevent that sticky feeling too. The knob was switched out for an antique glass one... I had extra from when I redid my dresser.

 I think it turned out so great and the finish is really nice.

Not bad for a dumpster dive and some paint! Stay tuned for more Operation Big Girl Room progress!

Apparently I have a thing for painting old tables. Here's a few more I did. :)

  

If you'd like to see where we started with Operation Big Girl Room or some other projects for this room, click below.