DIY Black Farmhouse Nightstands from a Vintage Vanity

Most vintage nightstands are short and wide, so they take up a lot of space and aren’t as tall as the bed. Check out how we made these tall DIY Black Farmhouse Nightstands from a vintage vanity.

Get more Black Painted Furniture Ideas here!

These nightstands started out as a vintage vanity that I found at an estate sale.

But man was that vanity in rough shape.

The top needed some veneer work, and the mirror and mirror frame was loose and wobbly.

And at the time, I just couldn’t imagine the time and headache it would take to fix those problems. (Scroll to the bottom of this post for ways that I have learned to fix these problems.)

Table of Contents

Supplies Used for DIY black farmhouse nightstands from a vintage vanity

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JigSaw
Router
Screwdriver
Bondo
Krud Kutter
220 Grit Sandpaper
Liquorice Chalk Paint from Country Chic Paint
Painting Sponge (Paint Brush)
My Favorite Waterbased Polyurethane Topcoat
Wood for the Tops
Special Walnut Stain

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Take Apart the Vanity

With a screwdriver, I was able to remove the mirror, top, and front brace.

The back brace wasn’t quite as easy (pictured below), but with 2 quick cuts with the jigsaw (each right against the sides), I ended up with two separate pieces.

the back of the vanity before cutting it in half with text overlay cut here and here.

Then I filled in any holes left from the little demolition with Bondo.

the two ends of the vanity separated into nightstands

side angle of the nightstands with damage filled in with Bondo

Check out how to repair damaged furniture with Bondo here!

Prep the Nightstands for Paint

Then I cleaned and scuff sanded each piece thoroughly before I started to paint.

closeup shot of the front of one nightstand with 2 drawers

Learn about the best way to prep furniture for paint here.

Or read this post to learn about The Importance of Sanding Before Painting Furniture!

Paint the Nightstands Black

Using the most amazing sponge paint brush ever, the Painting Sponge, I painted multiple coats of Liquorice until there was full coverage – about 3-4 coats.

I love the painting sponge because it doesn’t leave brush marks like regular paintbrushes!

But I like to thin the paint out a little bit to avoid brush marks. And the paint goes on thinner when you use a painting sponge.

So you end up having to paint more coats. I think it’s worth it to have a brush mark-free finish.

Get more ideas on how to avoid brush marks on your painted furniture here.

Distress the Chalk Paint

Then I lightly distressed the edges with an old damp rag.

I also really like to distress chalk paint with 220 grit sandpaper.

Check out the 6 best distressing furniture techniques here!

Either way works great!

Topcoat the Chalk Paint

The Painting Sponge is even more amazing when applying a perfect topcoat with no streaks.

I ended up applying 3 coats of my favorite water-based poly to the nightstands.

Here’s How to Apply Polycrylic to Painted Furniture.

You can also use a paint sprayer to spray the polyurethane topcoat too if you want!

Learn more about the best Topcoats for Painting Furniture here!

Make New Wood Tops

I cut and routered out new tops with fresh wood.

I used this laminated pine wood.

closeup shot of the laminated common board cut and routered to make a new wood top for the nightstands

birds eye view of new wood top for the nightstands

And I cut it out so it overhung the top of the nightstand a little on each side. (Somewhere between 1/2″ – 1″ overhang on each side.)

Stain the New Wood Tops

The tops were stained with a coat of special walnut and given multiple coats of polyurethane for protection. ( I waited to topcoat the wood after the stain had dried for at least 48 hours.)

Check out the Best Wood Stains for Refinishing Furniture here.

Read this post to learn more about How to Stain Wood Darker.

new wood top stained with special walnut wood stain. the rest of the nightstand painted black and distressed

Attach the New Tops to the Nightstands

Once everything was dry, I attached the new tops.

stained wood top and black painted nightstand

I used the same screw holes and screws that held the original top on, along with a few wood blocks (also from the original top) glued to the sides and some metal L braces on the inside back.

How to Repair Damaged Veneer

One thing I’ve learned since this makeover is how easy it is to repair damaged veneer, and the easiest way to remove damaged veneer (if it’s so bad that it needs to be removed.)

This once worn-out vanity is now the perfect solution to small space problems and are tall enough for modern beds!