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Painted Nightstands & DIY Project | ORC Week 3

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Last Updated on January 12, 2024 by lindseymahoney

Welcome back to week 3 of the One Room Challenge! This week I continued to focus on the bed and painted nightstands, which are the main focal point of the room.

To hide the old platform bed, I purchased a matte lasse bed skirt and it completely changed the look of the bed. I also purchased a white quilt so the green headboard would get all of the attention.

Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8

Check out the previous five One Room Challenge transformations:

Dining Room | Master Bedroom | Boys Bedroom | Girls Bedroom | Living Room


DIY Bed Side Tables | Painted Nightstands

Painted nightstand DIY - guest bedroom makeover

The original design plans included two skirted round tables.

I decided to pivot the design plans when I found an affordable fern table at a local estate sale that was perfect in this room. Not only did the fern table fit the style of the guest bedroom, but it now matched the height of the vintage sewing table on the other side of the bed.

To create a more cohesive look, I tackled a quick DIY and painted the nightstands white.

Painted nightstand DIY - guest bedroom makeover

Unfortunately, after two coats of primer, two coats of paint, and a topcoat, the top was still yellowed and discolored.

Painted nightstand DIY - guest bedroom makeover

I need to repaint the table with an oil-based primer to prevent the stains (probably from nicotine) from bleeding through.

On the other side of the bed is an old sewing machine cabinet that I took from my parent’s garage.

Painted nightstand DIY - guest bedroom makeover

I felt a little guilty painting it, but at least it’s getting used in a home and isn’t in a landfill!

Honestly, I was getting a little uncomfortable with the budget for this room, so I am thrilled that I was able to work with items I already owned. The fern table was only $32 and totally worth it.

Painted Nightstand Update

The two bedside tables look fantastic together, even though they don’t match perfectly!

Painted nightstand DIY - guest bedroom makeover
Painted nightstand DIY - guest bedroom makeover

*For more tips and techniques for painting furniture, check out my ultimate beginner’s guide!

DIY Project | Upholstered Headboard

Thrifted nightstands and DIY headboard for ORC week 3 | Building Bluebird

This past week I have also been hard at work putting together the headboard.

Like all of my projects, I did my best to find budget-friendly materials to keep it as affordable as possible. I started with a piece of $12 plywood from Home Depot.

Thrifted nightstands and DIY headboard for ORC week 3 | Building Bluebird

I wanted 3″ foam padding for the headboard, but the cheapest option I could find was $125. At Walmart, I found 1.5″ memory foam mattress pads for twin XL beds and they fit my dimensions almost perfectly. Each mattress pad was $25 and I ended up using 3 for a total of $75 in spending.

Thrifted nightstands and DIY headboard for ORC week 3 | Building Bluebird

Then I added two layers of batting for extra cushion.

Thrifted nightstands and DIY headboard for ORC week 3 | Building Bluebird

And attached this green suede fabric that I found in the bargain bin at Joanne Fabrics which cost $27 total.

I attached buttons for a custom look and hung it on the wall using cleats.

Thrifted nightstands and DIY headboard for ORC week 3 | Building Bluebird

The green suede fabric was definitely out of my comfort zone but I am thrilled with the end result. I almost went with a safe tan linen fabric, which would have looked beautiful, but this green is just so fun!

Thrifted nightstands and DIY headboard for ORC week 3 | Building Bluebird

The freshly painted white nightstands work really well with the headboard and new bedding too.

Check in next week to see how the office side of this room is coming together! Head on over to the  One Room Challenge blog to see all of the awesome design plans of the other participants.

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Janet Skidmore

Friday 14th of October 2022

Wow! Looks great!

lindseymahoney

Monday 17th of October 2022

thanks Mom:)