Spoiler alert! No sanding involved.
Last year I bought these black oak and faux rattan nightstands from Walmart for our primary bedroom. In the 12 years that Justin and I have been together, we have never owned matching (or even coordinating) nightstands.
So, when we moved into our new home in March 2021, I decided it was time to give our romantic retreat a little boost. When I ordered these, I was really happy with the overall design, size, and style. Over the last few months, though, I have had my eye on the Serena & Lily Driftway Chest as nightstands. At nearly $3,000 a pop, I needed to find an alternative that’s more in my price range.
I am a huge advocate of using what you already have to create a home you love, so that’s what I did with my Walmart finds. With a little paint and some Rub ‘n Buff, these once-black beauties are now beautiful in blue.
I learned with this project that laminate furniture can be a pain to paint. But with the right tools, it doesn’t have to be.
Here are my tips for painting laminate furniture:
What You’ll Need
- Microfiber towel
- Small paint trays (2-3)
- Mini paint roller
- 4-inch foam roller covers (2-3)
- KILZ Original oil-based primer
- Satin paint of your choice (I used Benjamin Moore Gentle Gray and one of the sample cans was plenty to put two coats of paint on the nightstands)
- Satin water-based polyurethane
- Gold Leaf Rub ‘n Buff (optional)
Total time: ~3 hours
Step 1: Clean
Wipe down your laminate furniture piece with a microfiber cloth to clean away any dust or dirt. For tougher stains, clean with a mild cleanser.
Step 2: Prime
Once your furniture is clean, prime it with some good ole’ KILZ Original. This step is key to making your paint really stick and show up true to color on your laminate furniture piece. One coat of KILZ is all I needed for my black nightstand.
Pour a small amount of KILZ into one of the paint trays and roll it on every inch of surface. Seriously, get it into every corner, nook, and cranny of the furniture piece.
Make sure to complete this step in a well-ventilated area. Outside is recommended.
Step 3: Paint
With your primer dry, start rolling on your paint. Again, pour a small amount of paint into a clean paint tray and use a fresh foam roller. Let your first coat of paint dry completely, then apply a second coat.
I only needed two coats of paint to achieve the color payout and coverage that I liked.
Step 4: Seal
Your paint is on and it looks gorgeous! Now let’s protect it. The final step to painting laminate furniture is sealing it with a water-based polyurethane. You want to use water-based instead of oil-based because oil-based will yellow over time. Roll on the poly the same way you did the primer and the paint.
You can choose to Rub ‘n Buff the drawer pulls or leave them black.
I hope this quick project inspires you to create furniture pieces you love using what you already have in your home. Or, it at least shows you that you take something like Walmart nightstands and put your own style spin on them.
Now, let’s tackled a headboard makeover! Stay tuned.
