When it comes to breathing new life into tired furniture, sometimes all you need is a little creativity and the right tools. In today’s guest blog, Denise from Salvaged Inspirations shares how she transformed a pair of worn-out nightstands into stunning statement pieces. Using Silk All-In-One Mineral Paint and a touch of decoupage artistry, Denise demonstrates just how easy it can be to achieve a fresh, modern look with minimal effort. Whether you’re a seasoned DIYer or just starting your upcycling journey, her step-by-step process is sure to inspire your next project! 

(The following is an excerpt from Salvaged Inspirations. Read the full article here.) 

 A hand holding a paint brush over the Colorful Tiles decoupage paper

Today I’m sharing how I used decoupage art on these two wood nightstands. Decoupage art can be sourced from napkins, wallpaper, rice paper, tissue paper, or even newspapers and magazines! It’s inexpensive and can make a dramatic difference on a plain piece of wood furniture as you’ll see in today’s makeover. 

Here’s the salvaged nightstand set I started with. The front door hinge was broken and there was contact paper covering the inside. 

"Before" picture of two brown wooden nightstands sitting on a light brown floor in front of a white painted wall "Before" picture of a brown wooden nightstand with a door hanging off the front and white contact paper with pink, red and black flowers on the bottom of the inside.

There were also some scratches on the top but overall these nightstands were still in awesome condition. 

"Before" picture of the top of the wooden nightstands

WHAT YOU’LL NEED 

NIGHTSTAND MAKEOVER 

Here’s how it all came together with the paint and decoupage tissue paper… 

CLEAN & PREP   

I started by removing the contact paper using a heat gun.  It doesn’t matter how many years the paper has been stuck on. Heat will remove it easily! 

Hand holding a heat gun pointed at white contact paper that has pink, red and black flowers A hand pulling up the white contact paper off of the inside of the nightstand.

I gave these night tables a good cleaning with White Lightning. making sure to rinse my sponge and wipe with clean water to remove any residue before sanding and priming. 

A hand wearing a white rubber glove cleaning the nightstand with an orange sponge

I decided to use this Deep Sea Silk All-In-One Mineral Paint so priming wasn’t a step that was needed. I painted two coats of this gorgeous Deep Sea Blue. 

A hand holding a paint brush that is applying Deep Sea Silk All-In-One Mineral Paint to the front of the nightstand. Nightstand frame with Deep Sea Silk All-In-One Mineral Paint applied

Then painted the inside in White Cap All-In-One Mineral Paint. No primer is required because the primer and topcoat are already included in this paint. 

A hand painting the inside of the nightstand with White Cap Silk All-In-One Mineral Paint

DECOUPAGE ART 

Now for the fun part! I found this Colorful Tiles Decoupage Rice Paper in my inventory. This exact paper is no longer in stock or available from Dixie Belle but they have plenty of other gorgeous designs to pick from! 

A hand holding up a package of Colorful Tiles decoupage paper

Because I can’t order more of this (and I didn’t think I had enough to cover the full inside of both nightstands) I cut the square tiles into pieces. 

Pro Tip – Decoupage papers can be cut, torn, layered, wrinkled, smoothed, painted, waxed, etc… pretty much anything to get the look you’re after! 

A hand holding a cut-out tile of the Colorful Tiles decoupage paper

To apply this decoupage art, I brushed a Satin Clear Coat onto the surface.  Then I laid the decoupage tissue over the wet topcoat positioning the tiles exactly where I wanted them. I pressed the paper down onto the drawer making sure there were no creases and wrinkles, and then brushed the topcoat right over the decoupage tiles to seal them in place. The Satin Clear Coat acts as the adhesive and the topcoat. 

Colorful Tiles decoupage paper being applied to the inside of the nightstand

To fit smaller ’tiles’ around the edges, I cut one-inch pieces and adhered them the same way as above. 

Strips of Colorful Tile decoupage paper sitting on top of a green cutting board

I was going to tile all four sides, but decided that would be a little much so I opted to paint the remaining two sides blue to match the outside. I added two new brass knobs and this set was finished! 

FINISHED DECOUPAGED SET 

Here’s the finished look. What do you think? 

Two nightstands painted with Deep Sea Silk All-In-One Mineral Paint that have the Colorful Tiles decoupage paper applied to the center sitting on a white floor in front of a white painted wall.

I’m really happy I opted to paint the two side panels on the inside because I think it might have been a bit ‘busy’ if I hadn’t.
Two nightstands painted with Deep Sea Silk All-In-One Mineral Paint that have the Colorful Tiles decoupage paper applied to the center sitting on a white floor in front of a white painted wall.

We hope you enjoyed following along with Denise’s beautiful nightstand makeover! With Silk All-In-One Mineral Paint’s durability and decoupage paper’s decorative touch, these once-worn pieces now shine with personality and charm. Ready to start your own transformation? Be sure to check out our full line of Dixie Belle products to bring your furniture makeover dreams to life. Don’t forget to tag us in your projects—we can’t wait to see what you create! For another fun project using Silk All-In-One Mineral Paint and decoupage paper, check out our blog, Yellowstone Silk Painted Side Tables.

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About the Author

Salvaged Inspirations

Denise is a blogger, self-taught furniture artist, writer, photographer and the owner/creator of Salvaged Inspirations. She is a lover of all things vintage, repurposed and restyled. A thrift enthusiast, she’s always in pursuit of the next creative upcycle.

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