Our Plan B for nightstands at the Poplar Cottage
THE POPLAR COTTAGE
After searching high and low for reasonably-priced, solid-wood nightstands for the Poplar Cottage and striking out, I went with plan B: unfinished furniture. There are so many great unfinished nightstands online and these cost less than $100 apiece. After assembly and paint, they are exactly what I was looking for! I wanted to share how they turned out out and include a few other pieces of unfinished furniture that have caught my eye lately. Have a look…
nightstands, stair rail, Cathy’s jeans
Color me impressed on these heavy, solid-wood nightstands, especially considering they were under $100 each! Before I show you more, let me backup and explain what unfinished furniture is and why we like it.
What is unfinished furniture?
Unfinished furniture are pieces that come without paint or stain. The raw wood is often sanded and ready for finish. Sometimes (read: usually) those pieces are unassembled and require a little of leg work to put together. Our nightstands came unfinished and unassembled and we ended up spending a couple of hours on each step.
Why buy unfinished furniture?
Personally, I like the price point of unfinished furniture and the creativity factor. It’s just so easy to make these pieces your own!
And this might be surprising, but I like assembling the pieces ourselves, too. Sure the added time can be a pain, but assembly affords the opportunity to beef up the construction. Add glue. Clamp pieces together for a tighter fit. Make the whole thing more solid.
Back to the price point. I’d guess solid-wood pieces like this would retail for upwards of $300 apiece. So assembling and finishing them ourselves saved us over $200 per nightstand and got us exactly what we were looking for. A win-win.
What to look for in unfinished furniture
First and foremost I look for solid wood and plywood pieces. If you’re going to take the time to finish them, you might as well make sure they’re going to last. I also like to peek at the reviews and see if customer’s post-assembly photos look similar to the product photo, just to make sure ;)
How to finish unfinished furniture
Stain and paint are the most common finishes, but let creativity be your guide! For this project, I primed the nightstands and then painted them with two coats of trim paint I had on hand to keep the cost down. We actually have a lot of trim paint on hand so I sampled a few on the back of one of the nightstands and ultimately picked F&B Stony Ground (color matched by SW). I opted to hand brush them for an old-school feel, but spraying them would be a great (and faster) way to go.
Unfinished furniture roundup
Here are some beautiful unfinished furniture pieces I’ve been eyeing that are just crying out for a little paint, stain, and customization!
1 / unfinished 6-shelf standard bookcase with doors, 72”x32”x12”
2 / unfinished entertainment TV stand with 2 doors, 20”x15.25”x26”
3 / unfinished solid wood storage cabinet, 48” x 18” x 10”
4 / unfinished writing design with drawer, 26”x48”x30”
5 / unfinished two drawer night/lamp/end/side table, 18”x18”x25.6”
6 / unfinished solid wood dresser with 6 drawers, 47.25”x17.75”x33”
7 / unfinished natural pine wood nightstand with 1 drawer, 55”x20”x16.5”
8 / unfinished vanity table with bench, 40.2”x17.1”x31.5”
9 / unfinished shaker bookcase with adjustable shelves and doors, 12.8”x38.5”x51”
10 / unfinished solid wood 3-drawer dresser, 17.7”x31/5”x29.9”
11 / unfinished natural pine wood table for 6, 36”x68”x29.75”
Can’t wait to see these nightstands in our bedroom!
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