Repurposing a Changing Table

OK, so I decided to re purpose my children's changing table and use it as a table, and storage chest (for all my picture stuff) in the hallway upstairs. Needed some additional lighting there anyways, so it's perfect for a lamp. As you can see it's kind of cherry colored and the drawers all have a see-through plexi glass panel. Didn't want to keep the see-through effect so I'm going to prime and paint that as well. FIRST I filled all of the holes on the top left by the bumper/back splash thing. I used water putty and later just wood filler. I sanded the top smooth and just hand sanded the other surfaces so they would accept the primer.

SECOND I removed all of the drawers and door, but left the hinges so I could paint them as well. I primed all of the outside surfaces. I also used a spray primer to coat the inside shelves. The primer I used is one that was left behind by the painting crew that painted our house. It's good stuff but I probably won't purchase more, KILZ works just fine.

THIRD I then applied the first coat of paint. (I used "Silhouette" by Martha Stewart. It's a very soft black) I didn't sand anything before hand because I'm going to sand after this first coat dries thoroughly. I painted the door and drawers separately, they are sitting to the left on a drop cloth. FOURTH Once the paint dries run your hand across the top, if you feel any roughness now is the time to sand using a fine grit sandpaper. You can use an electric sander if you prefer, just don't push too hard. This is a light sanding to make all the surfaces smooth to the touch.

FIFTH I applied a second coat of paint to every surface, your brush strokes are more important for this coat. Once dried I reassembled and touched up any places I could see that I had missed earlier. Now comes the fun part because you're almost finished! YAYSIXTH I used my 100 and 150 grit sand paper to give it a worn look on the corners and knobs. To give it more depth, after sanding take a MINWAX stain pen (light-medium color) and stain the exposed wood. Wipe clean with a cloth. Reapply as many times as you need to achieve the color desired. Here are a few close-ups...



LAST STEP I tried MINWAX Furniture Polishing Wax instead of a clear poly to seal it. It's kind of a pain, just like waxing your car but it does look nice and I think it's worth all of the sweating. I tried both the electric buffer and plain old elbow grease, and I think you need to use a little of both to achieve the desired sheen. It does need to cure like paint so don't be alarmed if it feels a little sticky. Try to wipe off any fingerprints you might leave. By the next day or so it should feel dry. Hope this helps you and/or inspires you to put something you have sitting in your basement or garage to better use and love it again! Here is the finished product sitting in my hallway upstairs. I love that it's now sitting there and can hardly remember what it was like with nothing sitting there!!