wow, I was skeptical and was just thinking, ughhhh i hope they didn't paint the whole thing, but this is striking. Congrats!

Looks fantastic! Great job, love those handles :)

I'm torn. I like elements of both and wish they could have been combined without painting. I love the new handles and the new darker stain, but wish the drawer fronts were still white.

Not usually one to say this, but i like the before. Obviously can't see the top, but the lovely glow of those drawers was too special to cover up. But mostly well done on finding a lovely little piece and giving it love.

Really nicely done!

cute! lets go thrifting together!

Yeah, I like the before better. I wish she had sanded, re-stained, and sealed it, then put the original hardware back on. While it's cute, I think the after looks more campaign chest/filing cabinet, and I prefer that classic mid-century look.

I like both!

Love both, REALLY love the handles on the second and happy the second works better for her. Man, $7.50? Paint me jealous.

When I saw the "before" I was scared to see the after - makeovers on solid wood furniture usually make me nervous. But I love the white drawers - it make the piece a little different from the rest of your wood furniture (I know the feeling of too much wood on wood floors). Super cute, nice job!

Wow. Great find for only $7.50! I prefer the before as well, but the after looks good too. I guess it depends on the look you want for your home. Good job.

I like the after. It's not as if this was a museum piece. If she wants to switch back at any point, she has only to sand and refinish the piece.

I like the contrast and since she says she feels like her place is heavy with brown furniture, it makes sense for her.

Nice job, Laura!

Nice job and a lovely find for what you paid for it. I have to say that I prefer the before but only because that is *exactly* the kind of bedside table I'm looking for for my own bedroom!

If I were out shopping and saw both of them side-by-side, first one in better shape of course, I'd choose the after. I think the look is much fresher, love the brass handles, and agree that if you have too much brown already, it could just disappear in the sea of furniture. Smart choices on a refresh in my opinion. Well done.

Love it. Wish I stumbled on things that looked that good for $7.50. Also love the brass, I get all fuzzy over brushed brass these days.

Lovely! I have an old night stand with a horrible paint job (came that way from a yardsale), but really neat recessed wood pulls on the drawers...this might be a great look for that, leaving the wood showing on the pulls....

oh boy.
LOVE the original.
the after looks like something new from ikea. sorry...

Hmm...I personally prefer the before, but she did do a nice job.

Love it. I'm usually a keep the wood fanatic, but you did keep most, and I think the white drawer facing really looks great with the clean lines of the piece. I have too much wood as well, so I get it.

Great job!

Some new life looks great on this piece. Well done.

I always think twice about a paint job for wood furniture (I often prefer befores for painted furniture), but this two-toned approach suits the period and the piece, and with that hardware--wow.

I wish I could find something that cute in the first place while thrifting. Every time I go it always seems like everything cute is falling apart.

In other words: Great find! and the update is smashing!

I'm impressed. A $7.50 piece of junk to one person is now a steal for another clever, creative individual. When I saw the before photo, I envisioned a lighter stain finish with new, funky handles. But now that I've seen the after photo, I think it looks wonderful. To paint or not to paint is always subjective. Laura did a very nice job.

Liked the before, really liked the after. Especially the hardware!

The white paint makes it look like formica-covered particle board—not a look I'm fond of.

I think it looks very nice. Certainly better than before, I think.

It looks great!

Must be my geographical location, but my local Goodwills and Salvation Armys never have any furniture for less than $40-$50 a piece. It's almost not like thrifting considering how cheap you can find NEW stuff at IKEA.

I like the before. I agree w/COLBALT BLUE's comment too.

i see a lot of redo's i am not fond of on here but this is the only one to make me break my rule " if you don't have something nice to say, zip it" sorry... the before was awesome, it just needed a little cleaning up.

I love it!

I like the before. This piece looks like a Paul McCobb piece. I have a Paul McCobb desk that I purchased a few years ago that is identical to the one I had as a kid that my parents got rid of! Of course it looks nice now, but the maple has a beautiful glow that I'm sorry you did not restore.

Love this! I bought a similar style desk for 5.99 last week and plan on painting just the drawers and updating the hardware as well.

Neither the before or after appeals to me personally but I can appreciate both in the the right environment. Maybe it's my monitor, but I don't see a dif in the stain between the two. Whichever one 'prefers' this is a job well done. Congrats....and what a steal!

I do love me a good *before & after* even when it doesn't suit my personal aesthetic. The snarky comments on these posts just make me want to slap someone silly (oh, wait...somebody beat me to it).

Definitely the after! Before,it was bland and boring.

Good job!!

I had a bit of a scare when I saw the "before" picture, hoping the beautiful wood would not just all be painted over. I would have kept the wood, but I can totally relate to the "Because I feel that I am drowning in brown furniture sometimes, I decided to paint the drawer fronts white", especially if you have lots of not-quite-the-same shades of brown. But I have to admit this is a very nice redo and looks snazzy!

Pi -- Maybe you got them switched? The white fronts are the after pic...

Nice job! Terrific price!

I'm painting a wooden vanity right now as part of my January Cure progress. I did my second coat of paint, but it doesn't nearly look as good at this project. http://katskull.com/tag/the-january-cure/

I like both. Great job!

Fabulous re-do. Tables like this in catalogs go for at least $200.

simple, but pretty!

Would a really nice white glossy sticker do instead of paint? That way you could remove it when you get tired of it.

Beautiful!

Current, concise, colorful. A dream.

I really like this! You followed the style of the piece nicely. Thumbs up!

I prefer the before.

I agree with others who say they like the before better. I plan to do something like the "after" picture to a couple of Ikea Rasts, so while I'm generally a fan of the dark stained dresser with white drawer fronts look, in this case I feel sad that the lovely maple wood on this particular piece was covered over.

i like the new hardware and the darker stain, but i wouldn't have painted the drawer fronts. poor lil nightstand.

It's really cute, and I really like the painted drawer fronts. I feel you on the "sea of brown" comment, and this little piece looks so bright and fresh now!

I'm really stoked that she just went for it. I'm always too afraid to go for the plunge. This inspires me a lot especially with switching up those brass handles and a trip to Habitat Restore!

The before was brown, battered and boring. The after is simply spectacular. Wonderful job!

For all those who have their panties in a wad because someone painted over a couple of square inches of wood, please do us all a favor: disconnect from the Internet and go move into a barn. You and we will all be much happier.

Wow! Wow! WOW! A little paint, new hardware and (ahem) WOW! Such a simple redo (before I even saw the after shot, I thought "White drawer fronts") that really adds to the basic bones of the piece.

maybe this is a dumb question, but how do you patch up the hole left by the original hardware?