DIY Emerald Green Mismatched Nightstands

Create your own modern farmhouse nightstands with a pair of mid-century modern nightstands and milk paint! The best part? They don’t have to be a pair of nightstands! Put two different nightstands together to make these DIY emerald green mismatched nightstands.

Get more green painted furniture ideas here!

mismatched nightstands before getting painted

These nightstands are funky, and they are different! That’s what sets them apart!

We’ve mashed up a few different things all into one pair of nightstands and I’m going to show you how you can do the same!

They are Mid Century Modern mixed with farmhouse and
They are mismatched nightstands. Two different nightstands painted the same!

Yep, you saw that right. The farmhouse rustic style, mixed with mid-century modern furniture, AND they are two different nightstands. But all of that works together to create a magical harmony.

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How to Make your own DIY Modern Farmhouse Mismatched Nightstands

First, grab two different nightstands. You want them to be similar in either size, or shape, or style. Take these mismatching nightstands for example:

One is 1/2″ shorter than the other, but it’s also a few inches wider than the other.
They are both MCM (Mid Century Modern) style with straight lines and details.
One nightstand has two drawers, the other has 3 drawers.
They even have different color finishes! One is darker wood, and the other is a bit lighter wood.

Other options to consider:

Two nightstands of the same height, different width. One has drawers and one doesn’t.
Two nightstands of the same style, both of different heights.
OR you can honestly just go all out and have two completely different nightstands! (We’ll make them have similar qualities next!)

Are you a visual learner? Here are some more mismatched nightstands that I have done!

Why should you use Mismatched Nightstands?

If you want to DIY your own painted nightstands, you might find that it’s hard to come across two matching nightstands. Over time, pairs of nightstands have gotten separated, or only one nightstand came in a bedroom set.

But, if you want two nightstands in one room, you’re going to have a hard time finding two matching nightstands for a cheap price.

Enter the two different nightstands! You can find two nightstands and make them a pair of nightstands with a little bit of paint! You can usually find a single nightstand for less money too!

From the design perspective, mismatching nightstands add an extra design element, or an eclectic feel to your room. No longer are the days of having a whole entire bedroom set matching!

Coordinating mismatched bedroom furniture doesn’t have to be difficult. Find pieces that have one similar element.

For example, the same style, the same color, the same height, or the same hardware lines. Then add another matching element, and you will have the perfect pair of mismatched nightstands.

From a furniture painter and seller’s perspective, a pair of nightstands always sell faster and better than a single nightstand.

So, whenever we get single nightstands in, we usually let them sit until we find something that can match them.

If you want to know more on how to make money painting furniture, check out this post.

Now, we paint the mismatching nightstands the same! Same paint, and the same hardware. Here’s how to paint mid-century modern furniture in a farmhouse style!

Supplies Used for DIY Emerald Green Mismatching Nightstands

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Mismatching Nightstands
Real Milk Paint in Lily Pad
Zibra Paint Brush (My fav!)
Krud Kutter
Sanding Sponges or (Sandpaper) for distressing
Shop Vacuum
Tack Cloth
Painters Tape
Water-based Poly to seal the milk paint
Modern Knobs (I got mine from TJMaxx a long time ago)

Grab our list of 10 must have painting furniture supplies too!

What is Milk Paint?

Milk paint comes in a powder (just mix it with water to create paint), and it is best known for creating an old-looking, chippy matte finish (like this DIY painted chippy farmhouse dresser).

Check out my comparison between milk paint vs chalk paint here.

I went for a matching farmhouse-style finish on these MCM nightstands! It’s non-toxic, and is super easy to use.

Milk paint is the easiest type of paint to use on old wood furniture, as long as you are happy with having either a chippy, slightly chippy, or full coverage finish.

Read this post to learn all about how to get a chippy paint finish with milk paint – every time!

Milk paint is known to do it’s own thing, depending on the surface it’s painted on.

So a surface that is slick and shiny, it would usually chip quite a bit.
On a wood surface that is really dry (or raw), the milk paint will most likely adhere really well, and not chip.

That’s honestly one reason I love it! I can’t wait to see what the milk paint does!

How to Use Milk Paint on Furniture

We painted these nightstands with Lily Pad by The Real Milk Paint Company! Learn all the details about how to use milk paint on furniture here.

How to Mix Powdered Milk Paint

A can of the Real Milk Paint in the color lily pad

Simply mix 1 part milk paint powder with 1 part water. The Real Milk Paint company makes it really easy to mix their milk paint! They include a container to mix it in!

Once the powder and water are in the container (along with the marble that they include), just close the lid tightly and then shake the container!

Here is a quick video from The Real Milk Paint on how to mix powdered milk paint.

Then let the milk paint sit in the sealed container for about 15 minutes, while you prep your nightstands for paint. Read through this post to learn more about mixing milk paint.

**If you take longer than 15 minutes to prep the nightstands (like filling in hardware holes) wait to mix up the paint, OR put it in the fridge until you are ready to use it.

**Once mixed up, the milk paint doesn’t have a long shelf life. Mix only what you will use that day!

How to Prep Nightstands for Milk Paint

Remove the hardware.
Fill in the old hardware holes. (Learn how to fill hardware holes and change hardware here!)
Clean the nightstands with a degreaser like Krud Kutter. (Learn more about how to clean furniture before painting here.)
Tape off the drawers with painter’s tape so milk paint doesn’t get on the sides or insides of the drawers (Learn how to prevent overspray when painting furniture here.)

I’m normally a huge advocate of proper prep including scuff sanding and preventing bleed-through. Read more about the importance of sanding before painting furniture here!

BUT with milk paint, that isn’t necessary, unless you have a slick or shiny piece of furniture.

If you don’t want the milk paint to chip, and it isn’t necessarily slick or shiny, then you should scuff sand as well. I do recommend scuff sanding and preventing bleedthrough with chalk paint though!

Read more about how to prep furniture for paint properly here.

How to Paint with Milk Paint

Now you’re ready to paint! My all-time favorite paintbrush to paint milk paint on furniture is the Zibra round brush! The Zibra paintbrushes and milk paint go very very well together.

Plus the round shape helps you get into details and grooves that a regular paintbrush can’t easily get into. Learn more about the best paint brushes for painting furniture here!

Brush the milk paint on in long strokes (milk paint has natural variations in the pigments, so long strokes from one end to the other are the best!) Paint two coats of milk paint on each nightstand!

Do you have a paint sprayer?

Did you know that you can spray milk paint!? You can!! Read about how to spray milk paint here.

spraying green milk paint on nightstands

nightstands after painting with green milk paint

green milk paint sprayed on a nightstand

How to Distress Milk Paint

Milk paint dries quickly! I noticed that The Real Milk Paint Company milk paint comes out grittier than other milk paint I have tried. That’s okay though!

Grab a 220-grit piece of sandpaper (or one of these amazing sanding sponges) and lightly hand-sand the paint.

This will distress the paint, help the chippy paint fall off, and it will smooth out the gritty texture! Check out this post to learn all about the 6 best distressing furniture techniques!

Once you are done, vacuum up the dust and wipe it down with a lint-free rag or tack cloth.

How to Seal Milk Paint

Milk paint is super porous and has to be sealed with either wax, hemp oil, or polyurethane. Learn more about the 3 ways to seal milk paint here.

Polyurethane is much more durable than wax or hemp oil, so it’s my go-to! Read through this post to learn more about the best topcoats for painting furniture.

On these emerald green nightstands, I sprayed on a few coats of water-based poly. Learn ALL of my tips and tricks on how to spray polyurethane here!

If you don’t have a sprayer you can brush the poly on! Here’s how to apply polycrylic to painted furniture.

I mixed about half and half of the matte poly and the satin poly to create a really nice sheen. Then I sprayed it with 3 coats of poly.

White and Gold Modern Knobs

To finish off these nightstands we add the same white and gold modern knobs to both nightstands.

I personally like to put the same hardware on both mismatched nightstands to add one more similarity, but you could switch it up with knobs that are the same color, but different shapes on the other nightstand.

Check out more mid century modern painted furniture ideas here.

side view of green milk painted nightstands with white and gold modern knobs

emerald green mid century modern mismatched nightstands

More Before And After Makeovers

Click any of these “before” photos below to view the “after” of that makeover.

emerald green mismatched nightstands with white and gold knobs

closeup of nightstand with green chippy milk paint

closeup of emerald green distressed nightstand

Now you have your emerald green mismatching nightstands for your bedroom!

Head on over to our Rustic Painted Furniture ideas for your next project.