Silver Leafed Bar Cart... Needed a cocktail!

I must speak the truth... I blew my budget on a GORGEOUS area rug (seen in the background above).  So I will be keeping an eye out for a desk & chair to use as my nightstand, but until then I went on a search around the house.  My current nightstands were some small round nesting tables.  They are nice tables, just not for the bedroom.  I needed something a little more substantial to balance out the hubby's vintage carrara marble topped nightstand.  I searched the house high & low with an open mind.  Sure enough I came across this lovely piece...

A rickety old bar cart with standard office casters.  Not the most gorgeous piece of furniture I have ever seen, but the dimensions were perfect.  A bar cart for a nightstand?  It's been done before...



{ From my archive of images... sorry I don't have the reference }





Not really a bar cart, but you get the idea
{ http://therenayssance.blogspot.com/ }



The transformation:

Sand down this lovely top.

Unnecessary step... I painted the top gold.  I was hoping that the gold would peak through the silver.  Unfortunately, I think the areas that do peak through would have looked the same with the original wood.  Just sayin'.

Brush on a layer of Gold Leaf Size.  Allow it do dry clear & then carefully lay on the DELICATE Silver Leaf.



Ummm... Did I say that this stuff was DELICATE!!!? Well I tried the manufacturer's recommended method, but a gentle breeze blew that idea right out the window (literally).  Luckily I was going for a aged look so the uneven areas worked for me.

Added 3 coats of Minwax Polycrylic Finish to seal the surface.  We'll see how this stuff holds up compared to Poly.  I also applied Liquid Gold to all of the wood surfaces to make it as good as new.





I also glammed it up a little more by adding some vintage casters a la eBay to raise the height.



Overall I am quite happy with my "new" nightstand & it's $25 redo price tag!

Cheers- K