Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Faux Mirrored Metallic Night Stands


I think it's safe to say that these amazing Henredon Night Stands really completed my Master Bedroom Makeover.  I won't pretend that they were the easiest project for me.  It took FOREVER to accomplish the look that I wanted.  Fortunately for you fine folks, I tried about 5 different methods and through trial and error, finally got the exact look I wanted so that you don't have to figure it out the hard way. Keep in mind as you read through this tutorial that you may decide to eliminate (or add) some of the steps depending on what look you want.  Best of luck to you!

I could kick myself for not taking a full "before" picture of the night stands when I purchased them.  I saw them on KSL and was instantly in love with their legs, hardware, size, and amazing carved details.  They came out of an upscale SLC hotel when they were renovating the rooms.  I walked away with them for a mere $40 a pop.  Talk about a deal.  If you don't know the brand Henredon, go check out their website and then let me know what you think about $40 a piece for these babies.  When I picked them up, they looked like they were a cream with some gold-ish glaze.  It wasn't till I got home and saw them in the daylight that I realized they were a very yellow cream with an almost greenish glaze.  Ick. 

This is the only picture I can find that sort of shows the whole piece (hiding under the pain cans) 

 Love the detail but hate the stain

So, step one: I sanded..  Most often if a piece is in good condition without chipping paint, I will prime right away without sanding.  In this case, there were several chunks of paint missing that would have left little pot holes.  Also, I was curious to see what kind of wood was hiding underneath there in the event that I decided to stain instead.  I used an electric sander on all flat surfaces without any details (the top, and drawer fronts).  I used very fine sand paper and hand sanded all other areas that were rounded at all.  I completely avoided the hand carved detailing.  If sanding is necessary on ornate details, you can use steel wool.
 
Step two:  I spray primed. Using Rustoleum Painter's touch gray primer, I sprayed these with several light coats until I had a good even coverage.  Both stands only required about a can and a half.

Step 3: I spray painted.  Using Rustoleum Painter's touch spray paint in granite (satin finish), I sprayed several light coats once the primer had completely dried.

In between here and the next steps I made lots of boo boo's. Mistake # 1: I experimented with a different style similar to the one I did on the Thomasville dresser and HATED it on these stands.  So lucky for me, I got to repeat steps 2 and 3 again to get back to where I started.

Step 4: I painted again- metallic rolling style. 


Using Ralph Lauren's Regent Metallic Silver Base paint and Ralph Lauren's metallic finish roller, I rolled several coats onto the stands.  This product is one that is intended for you to add your own color into it.  Because my sweet friend had given me the rest of a can she used (and opted not to add a color), I decided to try it as-is also, thinking it would look really cool to still have the gray shine through as my base color. 

NOTE: Ralph Lauren is being discontinued at Home Depot, so all of their paint products are on sale 50% off.  Run in and stock up on their Regent Metallic before they bite the dust.

I originally applied it with a regular brush, and it looked awful (mistake # 2). 

The center shows what it looked like brushed on... the edges were still the result from mistake# 1
 Mistake # 3:Then I tried a regular roller, and it still looked awful.  The roller kept pulling up the previous rolls.

After a stop at the Home Depot (and spilling the rest of the paint in my purse), I learned that RL makes a special roller for this particular application. 

 I thought it was just a gimmick to get you to by a stupid $7 roller but seriously, you have to have this to get the finish that the paint is intended to create.  PAY THE $7.  After several coats of rolling, the stands looked like this:



The finish was exactly what I wanted, but there was still too big of a contrast between the base coat and the brightness of the metallic finish. 

Step 5: I sprayed- metallic style. Using Rustoleum Metallic spray paint in "Silver Metallic" color, I sprayed over the regent metallic finish with several light coats.  FINALLY it was coming together.  I loved the combination of these two finishes.  The texture that the RL roller gave still shone through, but the spray paint helped to blend together the two different colors. 

Step 6: Using Valspar's Antiquing glaze, I dry brushed lightly onto the stands until I had covered all areas, paying special attention to the nooks and crannies. Then, using a completely dry paper towel, I rubbed the glaze into the paint, until it was dry and started to glaze into the "splotches" that the RL metallic finish had created.

                                 
 
Please note that of course I learned this the hard way also through mistake # 4. I originally brushed it on thoroughly, and then wiped the glaze off with a damp rag.  It left basically no glaze on the main surfaces, only in the cracks- not the look I wanted)  

You can play with the glaze and add or remove as much as you want to.  I have found Clorox wipes or a rag with windex to work well at removing excess glaze (not that I've ever had to do that, like a billion times. ahem.)

I opted to leave the center of my night stand unglazed, because I wanted it to look more like an actual mirror, and wanted to get it as shiny as I could. 

Once everything else was all glazed, she looked like this:




Optional Step 7: To make the top as shiny as possible, I sprayed her with several more coats of the Metallic Silver spray. 



Step 8: I applied protective clear coats.  I sprayed the top with Rustoleum Clear Gloss (hoping for the shiniest finish) and the rest of the stand was brushed on with Minwax Water based Polycrylic in semi- gloss.  I would suggest using this same product in a spray can if you have to purchase it anyway; I just used what I had on hand but spraying is definitely more convenient.  Be sure to spray your can upside down when finished to clear the nozzle so that you don't clog it up for the next time (not that I have 4 cans with that problem right now or anything...) I applied 2 coats of clear finish, then sanded with a very fine sand paper to get rid of any bumps or brush marks.
I finished with a third and final coat of finish.

Step 9:  I sprayed the hardware.  Though I often love to keep original hardware as-is, my hardware looked a bit too dingy against the gorgeous silver.  It still had some of that green-ness to it and was too bronze.  I sprayed the hardware with several very light coats of Rustoleum Hammered spray paint in Dark Bronze color. 





I put all the hardware back on, and VIOLA! Gorgeous Night Stands, finished exactly how I wanted them.

I must say I am in love.  Hopefully your attempts will go much smoother than mine with my mistakes and successes.  If you learned nothing else from this, know that I too make mistakes- lots of them.  As Winston Churchill so wisely said, "If at first you don't succeed, try try again".  That I did, Winston.

I would like to give a special recognition to Little Green Notebook and Recaptured Charm for their inspiration and tutorials on how to achieve similar looks.  Thanks ladies!

That's all for today folks.

~PW

I'm linking up to:

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Domestically Speaking


Tute yourself tuesday red and white

Funky Junk's Saturday Nite Special


UndertheTableandDreaming



44 comments:

  1. Well it took a lot of work to get to the final result but WOOOWWWWW.. they look AMAZING! Wonderful results. Now you'll know the easy route for next time..lol
    Fantastic makeover.
    Lisa

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  2. Wow! I can't wait to see it in person. Seriously wow! and I want you to help me make some similar drapes for my dining room (aka 'area').

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  3. Lisa, thanks for stopping by and for your inspiring night stands! Yours were gorgeous with the real mirrors on top.

    Shay Shay, you are so sweet. I am so happy with how it turned out. Come in and see it next time you're here for sure! I would LOVE to help you with your drapes. Come over for a sewing night one of these days soon and we'll knock em out

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  4. Absolutely stunning! It definitely looks like something that could be purchased at a high-end furniture store! I'm your latest follower!

    http://downonsanford.blogspot.com/
    Robby

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  5. SOOOO nice! What a project...but the sweat equity paid off!

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  6. SOOOO nice! What a project...but the sweat equity paid off!

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  7. Nice job. They really look amazing. Also thanks for doing all the leg work so we won't have to make the same mistakes just new ones ;)

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  8. This is beautiful....love the metallic finish! Your hard work totally paid off!

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  9. Gorgeous! You worked so hard on this project! I just bought some of that exact glaze~ I couldn't resist at half off!!!! :)

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  10. You lucked out finding those nightstands! Thanks for the tutorial, you did a wonderful job transforming them, I'll have to try a piece in that finish. I will be following along to see more projects.

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  11. Love these! I'm bookmarking so I can refer back to this after I find some dressers of my own to transform like these!

    Also going to be a new follower, and follow along :)

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  12. These look great! I'm bookmarking this tutorial! :)

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  13. Thanks everyone! They really were quite the esperiment for me but they turned out fabulous. Hopefully this makes it easier for you to create the same look. Be sure to pick up your RL regent metallics paint before Home depot is all out of stock while it is 50% off. Good luck!

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  14. Wow, what a lot of work, but they look great. Thanks for joining WUW.

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  15. Wow what fantastic looking night stands and a wonderful paint job. Thanks for all the painting tips...I will favorite this post and try later when I find the perfect piece. I have used the metallic paint and roller before on my walls and ceilings...love this paint. Karla

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  16. Oh, I forgot to include this...I have used the metallic roller with regular paint and glazing on my kitchen walls to hide a dark paint. I used a lighter paint and glaze over the darker paint and it looked great...an easy faux finish. Karla

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  17. These are amazing! I have been searching and searching for something like these! If you get tired of them, let me know!!
    Thanks for sharing!
    Liz

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  18. These came out gorgeous! I know all about the high quality of Henredon furniture, so you have yourself a pair of beauties. I want to do a french chair like this, so I am guessing I will have to use a brush instead of a roller since there are no flat surfaces. Thanks for all the tips, and you are quite funny!!

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  19. Your end tables turned about beautiful. Thanks for sharing.

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  20. Wow this turned out beautiful I want to do a silver metallic finish on my BR furniture. I wasn't sure how to achieve it. Thanks for the tutorial.I'm now following.

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  21. Wow, wow, wow! Absolutely gorgeous!!!!

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  22. Just gorgeous! Visiting from domestically speaking link party.

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  23. I am currently in the middle of redoing our master bedroom and I cam across your blog on the diy blog. Your master redo looks similar to ours and I am actually doing our nightstands very similar to yours this weekend. I am trying a different technique though so I hope they come out just as good!

    Amber
    www.the-dowlings.blogspot.com

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  24. I am a new follower. I love how your silver nightstand turned out. I am getting ready to do one in silver as well. Thanks for all your great tips. I haven't decided on my technique yet. I will probaly end up with a combo of many.
    Amy
    www.SistersoftheWildWest.blogspot.com

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  25. damn girl! that was a whole lotta work. they look awesome though.

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  26. Every now and then, I stumble upon a blog that really turns my head, and yours does! Wonderful projects, such class! So glad I stopped by. xoxo tami

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  27. She looks sooo good after her makeover! I’m having a giveaway...be sure to come by and check it out…it ends March 6.

    Blessings,
    Linda

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  28. This is phenomenal. Absolutely gorgeous. I;m your newest follower.

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  29. This looks fabulous. It turned out beautifully!

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  30. Thank you thank you everyone! Can't wait to see the projects you are working on with this paint technique.

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  31. Great job on the nightstands! They look absolutely AMAZING!
    -Jen

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  32. They are gorgeous! I'm getting ready to do a similar treatment to a pair of chairs I purchased.

    Oh, and I noticed we are blog twins as I have the same background as you do.

    I'm your newest follower.

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  33. Holy Cow! These are gorgeous. I can't believe you found these for $40 each. I haven't found any great pieces to refinish yet...little jealous here. :)

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  34. $40 for a dresser that cute is a steal regardless...$40 for a Henredon dresser makes me about as pea green with envy as their original color! you did a fabulous job!!! Love it! Now I just have to decide what piece in my house I want to paint like this!!!!

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  35. Swoon!

    (I was going to leave a more coherent comment, but fainted, bumped my head... then snapped out of it with an overwhelming desire to run to Home Depot's paint section...)

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  36. @Vivienne @ the V Spot Could you possibly be any funnier? You make me laugh all the time! I love it!

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  37. Thanks for the step-by-step and for not leaving out the little mistakes - now, If I do this project and I hit the same walls I'll know what to do! And GREAT idea at putting the furniture up on paint cans! I never thought of that before but it is the perfect solution.

    xo

    (latest follower here!)

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  38. Whew! That's a lot of work... but I'm game to try! I have some kitchen stools that need a little glam factor. This works perfectly!

    Much Love,
    Trissta
    www.livingonthechic.com

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  39. This is awesome! I love your blog. Thanks for the great info. I am totally going to try this ... soon :)
    Thanks again

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  40. Great post shared on metallic night stand for better home. Thanks for sharing.

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  41. Henredon night stand look's marvelous. Thanks for sharing the post.

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  42. When using the Valspar Antique glazing did you add any color to it?

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