The Nest - Bedside Tables and Dining Room Chairs

In an effort to keep costs down for our new home, I decided to upcycle some old dining room chairs given to me by my parents, and to create two beautiful bedside tables from very basic £9.00 IKEA Rast bedside tables, which are effectively 4 bits of wood screwed together!

Bedside Table:
First (I haven't taken many photos of this process, it's pretty self explanatory!) sand down the wood using glass paper, you want to smooth the wood grain not get rid of it completely, then remove any dust using a dust brush. Next you need to prime the wood using a special indoor wood primer. People always forget about primer, but it stops your lovely expensive paint seeping into the grain and you have to use twice as much to get the colour you want. I use Diall from B&Q that you can pick up for £10.00 per pot. A little does go a long way though, it's definitely worth it! After the first coat, leave it to dry, and before the second coat, give it a light sand again. The grain will have raised after the first coat, so this is to smooth it down again. Once the second coat is dry, sand gently again, and add the first coat of paint. Then wait, sand and paint for the second coat of colour! There, you should have beautiful bedside tables now.

Dining Room Chairs:
First of all remove the seat pads (we'll get to those later) and and any old fabric you don't want. Unfortunately, the backs of my chairs do not come off, so we had to remove the fabric and leave on the old one. Don't worry if you get paint on it though, it will be covered.

Next, sand down the wood with the glass paper. If the wood has been varnished, be sure to get all of the varnish off or the primer and paint wont stick to it and you could be left with patchy areas. Then prime, wait, sand, prime, wait and sand. Then you can start to add the first layer of colour.

If your chairs are hardwood, you shouldn't need to sand in between coats of the colour, but if you do, go gently and don't rub too hard. Pay particular attention to the areas of the chair that will get the most wear and tear, and use a little extra paint here.