Can you paint laminate?.....oh, YES!

I've been looking for a nightstand for myself for just about forever now.  I'm not kidding.  Most of you know that we lost a lot of our furniture in our big move from California to Colorado.  I found a great, sturdy nightstand at a thrift store several months ago for my husband and re-did it to make it look all nice and beautiful.  You can read about that HERE.

My side of the bed was still sitting empty though.  I've looked and looked but nothing has caught my eye.  I have big eyes too; it's really not that hard.  Then I spotted this little cutie at a yard sale for only $5.  Good price, cute knobs....for something else, the right size, etc....but it was laminate. 

I'm not a fan of anything laminate, but I was desperate people.  I knew I could do something with this little baby so I bought it  for five big ones and brought it home.  She came into my garage and spent a few nights among the other little projects I'm in the middle of.  I thought I'd let her get to know everyone before her makeover.

Here is her big reveal!

and once again, I LOVE it!

So to answer your question, or my question rather, Yes, you can paint laminate.  The only way this works though is to get the right kind of primer.  Primer is the key.  Here's what I did.

The nightstand had some damage and it needed to be sanded down.  I gladly got my sander out and put it to work.  I also didn't care for that bottom door so I got rid of that by taking off the hardware inside.  On this project, power tools were my friends.

 

 

Once everything was sanded and the door taken off, I used Zinsser's Cover Stain Primer.  It adheres to anything, even laminate.  If you paint right over laminate, your project will look awful and the paint will easily scratch off.  No bueno. (Yes, I am bilinguel...sometimes... mostly)

 

 

After primer,  I lightly sanded down the entire nightstand with 150 grit sand paper.

Now it's time to paint! Woo Hoo!  I have no idea why I chose to use a sponge brush.  I usually reserve these cheap, disposable brushes for the final step of adding polyurethane.  Anyway,  paint using a good brush.

Here she is all dark and lovely.

I always apply polyurethane as a final step to protect the paint job. ALWAYS.

I changed the knob to match my husband's nightstand.  I found them at Home Depot for about $4.

BEFORE.

AFTER.

I know this blog is called Lewisville Love, but Lisa Loves this:

  By the way, I made the basket on the bottom for about $5.  If you want to know how, click HERE.  

Total cost: $14

$5 for the nightstand

$4 for the knob

$5 for the basket

I had all the paint supplies already.....

So the next time you find laminate but don't care for the color, just paint it!

Blessings,

Lisa

P.S.  I just noticed after posting this that I forgot to take off the white plastic piece that keeps the door closed.  Oops!

I link all my projects with some wonderful blogs.  To visit them, go to the {Link Party Love} page found at the top of this page on the {Home} bar.
Also linking to:
Savvy Southern Style
No Minimalist Here
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Saved by Love Creations 
Miss Mustard Seed
Funky Junk Interiors
Coastal Charm