Years ago when I was single I needed a nightstand for my bedroom. I found an old piece that was once attached to an antique vanity. It had two drawers and was tall and narrow. It was just the right size for my apartment. It did have one rather large issue. The top was curved in the front and had several “chunks” missing. Since my brother does wood work I knew that he could repair it with wood putty. I assured him that since I was going to paint the piece white it did not matter what it looked like. He did a nice job repairing the top and I used it this way for a long time. I covered the top with a crocheted doily and it looked okay.
When we were redecorating our daughter’s room she needed a nightstand. So, I pulled out my old one and thought the top really needed to be updated. I began to tinker with some ideas but the main curve ball (no pun intended) every time was the curved front. Everything I thought of was not going to conform well to the curve and I really wanted to do some kind of a tile that would hold up well in a kid’s room. Then one day when I was at home with my son who was sick I got out the nightstand and started playing around with different items around the house. I had seen where someone had glued pennies to a floor and then grouted around them. I tried the pennies but once again when I got to the curve they were too big. To the craft room I went. There had to be something in there that was the right size and in abundant supply. Here is what I finally found:
This is the back edge of the nightstand
Buttons. Yes ordinary white buttons of all shapes and sizes. I put a row of the same size buttons at the bottom to give it a finished edge. The rest were glued down with Alene’s Tacky Glue in a random pattern. I used another straight row on the curved edge and they conformed nicely. I then grouted around the buttons in a white grout.
The buttons really transformed this discarded find into a beautiful piece.
The first straight row is at the top of the curve.
Adding another straight row at the bottom edge gave it a nice finish.
This piece is one of my favorite things in my house. It is still in my daughter’s room and when she moves out it will stay in my house. I was very excited it turned out so well. All of the buttons I had collected at garage sales or friends had given them to me. I think I might be addicted to buttons. I love the variations of color, size and texture. There are even some on the nightstand that came from my Grandmother’s collection. So not only does the nightstand look better it holds memories of precious people in my life.
Remember that there are always more options in the creative world. Don’t settle for what others have tried or the newest trend. Start digging around in your craft room and who knows what solutions will emerge.
Danna
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