If you are looking for practical steps and instructions on how to DIY a Chalk Paint Nightstand, read on!

Getting married changes you (and was actually the best day ever) but it also comes with a newlywed budget. I’m a big lover of Restoration Hardware and needed to figure out how to get that look for less! And so, I decided to venture into the world of Restore and chalk painting a nightstand.

Let me tell you, it was the easiest, stress-free painting process of my life. If I can do it, YOU can do it, seriously I have 0% artistic capabilities so you can trust me on this one.

How To DIY a Restoration Hardware Inspired Chalk Paint Nightstand

1. Find A Piece Of Furniture You Want To Change Up!

I would highly suggest checking out your local Habitat for Humanity Restore, if you keep an open eye you can find some gems for great prices.

2. Purchase Chalk Painting Resources

The most popular paint for this kind of project is Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. That is the top-quality brand that you can get.

However, I just needed to have the “look” so I went with Valspar Chalk Paint.

Products Purchased

• 1 Quart of Grey Chalk Paint
• 1 Quart of White Chalk Paint
• Antiquing Wax
• Sealing Wax
• Large Paint Brush ($4)
• Two Small Brushes (99 cents each)

Looking back I definitely didn’t need the whole quart. This paint is THICK and goes a long way

Antiquing wax and sealing wax – I’m centering my home decor around hues of rustic brown. The antiquing wax provides brown hues.

Paint Brushes – the smaller brushes did give a bit of an issue with the bristles falling out into my paint but since I was going for the rustic look, I could easily smooth them out by pulling the bristle out and just wiping over the spot with a piece of lint-free cloth.

3. Prepare Your Furniture

Make sure your furniture is clean and sanded if necessary.

4. Paint Your Base Layer

The reason chalk paint appealed to me was because there was no priming or sanding required to applying the paint. I don’t have a large space, so I needed to take a mess-free method.

1. I dipped the large brush slightly into the paint and painted with long strokes. I was more than delighted to see that the paint didn’t get into the crevices and that as the paint started to run out it didn’t provide as much coverage. This gave me the rustic look I was going for.
2. I followed the process of using long strokes and tried to avoid going over crevices when I had just dipped the brush into the paint. I wanted the brown of the crevices to show through.
3. This chalk paint can dry in one hour but I decided to let it sit overnight.

5. Add “distressed details” with white chalk paint

Let the paint dry overnight.

For the nightstand, I took a “dry brush” technique which is basically:

1. Very lightly dip the brush into the paint
2. Wipe excess paint onto a paper plat
3. Use the remains of the paint on the brush to brush over your furniture lightly

With this technique I was able to get the distressed details I was looking for. I brushed in the direction of the wood for certain areas, brushed diagonally for others and even had some fun with it and put in swirly brush strokes. Anything works with this because you’re putting such a light amount of paint on the furniture. If you don’t like how a certain brush stroke has gone on, you can always wipe it with a cloth.

After doing this all over the nightstand in areas I wanted “distressed”, I let it sit overnight to dry.

6. Add “antiquing” details

Now, the next step should be to wax your furniture with clear wax. But, I decided to take the taboo route and use the antiquing wax all over it first. You aren’t supposed to use the dark wax first is because it will stain your paint. But, I wanted my paint to be stained with a brown hue so that it wouldn’t be just grey and white but have that rustic brown shaded into it. This was highly discouraged from the resources I researched because if you stain it, you can’t take it back. But, I was okay with that and decided to proceed with caution

Since I wanted the paint to be stained very subtly, I took the same dry brushing technique with the wax.

1. After putting the wax on and really working it into the crevices I wiped it off with a cloth right away. If you want a darker stain you can leave it on longer and then wipe it off.
2. I opted to put the antiquing wax everywhere so that my paint would be stained uniformly. But, you can choose to just stain it in certain areas, it’s all up to you! I let this dry overnight.

7. Seal furniture with sealing wax

Finally, I sealed the entire piece with the sealing wax.

1. I dipped one end of the little brush into the wax and slathered the wax all over to evenly cover the nightstand.
2. After waiting 1-2 minutes, I wiped off the wax with a lint-free cloth.
3. I worked in small sections on each side.
4. After waxing and wiping off the wax on the entire nightstand I let it sit for a few hours and finally got to place it in my bedroom!

I have never been happier with an “arts and craft” project in my life and my chalk paint nightstand was degrees cheaper than a nightstand I would have gotten at Restoration Hardware so I am a happy monkey. I’d love to see pictures if you try this out, good luck!

Here’s the final product. I love my chalk paint nightstand!