This week’s reader submission is a DIY refresh that gives a contemporary twist to a mid century modern nightstand. This project was submitted by Reeves, a 19 year old college student and blogger over at The Weathered Door. Reeves repurposes and refinishes her fab vintage finds in Seattle, Washington. We love the way she plays with paint and color on her projects, especially using geometric designs.

Reeves refreshed a mid century modern nightstand and by using geometric designs and modern color combinations.

Here is a before shot of the nightstand.

Take it away, Reeves!

“This little nightstand came from goodwill. It has a cute mid century modern shape, but it also had a laminate top. Lately I’ve been drawn to everything orange. After choosing orange as the accent, I picked white for contrast and a dark grey as the third color. Instead of using one of those 3 colors for the rest of the nightstand, I went with light grey. It’s not as heavy, but still pares well with other colors. I think my favorite part is that fact that the original wood is part of the design.”

“I started with the drawer – sanding with 320 grit sandpaper and then adding the design. Sharp lines are key to making the design look nice and pop. I worked by color on this starting with orange, then dark grey, and then white. For colors I used all General Finishes Milk Paint colors. The orange is Persimmon, the grey is Queenstown Gray and the white is Snow White. I also used their high performance poly in satin to seal the whole piece when it was done.”

“For the frame of the nightstand I sanded it will 150 grit sandpaper and then filled and glued a couple things before painting. I did sand and prime the laminate top with Zinsser’s Cover Stain primer to help with adhesion. It just took 2 coats with a poly brush and a quick sanding to even it out. For paint I used General Finishes Seagull Grey on the frame of the nightstand. It took 3 coats to get full coverage, and once it cured I sealed it with satin poly.”

Annnd here is her finished product!

To see more of Reeves’s designs and read about her process, check out her blog!

To purchase paint, brushes and other DIY supplies – visit our online shop or come see us in person at our retail store, located at 410 S Maple Ave in Falls Church, VA.

Submit your project and it might be featured on our blog! You can use our handy submission form here – be sure to have before and after photos ready.