bedside table diy & mixing metals

My husband thinks I’m crazy. I’ve picked up furniture sitting on the side of the road waiting to be taken away as trash. He just shakes his head when I come home with something new. My most recent find was this… this… well, I wasn’t really sure what it was originally used for. I thought it could have been a computer or media cart. But after my mom saw it – she knew right away – it was a record player stand. And sure enough, when I googled it – she was right! A mid-century metal rolling record cart like these:

Vintage. Mid-century modern. Vinyl records. This made me love it even more! So, now what do I do with it? It took me a few weeks to figure it out but it has found it’s place as my bedside table. A little gold spray paint, white satin latex paint, and a $19.99 tray from Marshall’s is all I needed to transform this roadside find into my new favorite piece!

Here’s the before:

 And here’s the after:

I chose gold metallic because it is super hot right now – and I’m loving it!! There are mostly silver accents in our bedroom – and throughout our house – but mixing metals seems to work with my eclectic style. Mixing metal finishes in home decor, or in fashion, can be a little tricky. I used to never think I could mix metals. For me it was either gold or silver. Never both. And then I discovered bronze and copper… ugh, metallic overload. I’m loving the file folders too – and they are very useful for me and all my paperwork.

Here are my “rules” for mixing metals – this seems to apply to fashion too:

1) don’t go overboard – stick with small touches of metallics.

2) choose one metallic to be the dominant design element and use another metal as an accent.

3) And remember, you don’t have to mix metallics! If you stick with one metal color, vary the texture of the finishes. That way you’ll avoid a monotonous result. For example, if you want to stick with gold, try mixing matte and shiny finishes; if it’s silver, pair hammered silver with pewter. Mixing old and new finishes will keep your room interesting.

You can read a great post on mixing metals here from Jones Design Company. I especially love it when she says, “Thankfully, the best rule for design today is if you like it and it is pleasing to your aesthetic, it works.” I’m going with that!

I hope you enjoyed my bedside table redesign and always be on the lookout for those roadside treasures – you never know what you might find – and what you could create!