You're probably having difficulty because of the laminate. You need to use BIN primer sealer first. Then you can paint.

My vanity from when I was a child was white french provincial...very much like this one.

The top was formica. I painted it with BIN* on top to get the "cling" necessary to paint the formica. I then faux finished the top in marble look (thank you Christopher Lowell!) and coated it with a couple of coats of urethane. I used a horrible shade of flat gold colored paint on the bottom similar to BM august morning to get the under color I wanted for the wood look. After it was dry, I took a dark gel stain and a crumpled up plastic grocery bag and added the "graining". I finished it off by repainting the gold in the routed out areas.

You would probably want to go with a deeper color for the undercoat than I used to get a darker finish.

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*Note: the guy in the paint store convinced me that their version of BIN was just as good and less expensive so I tried it. After all my effort to faux finish the top, it started peeling in a matter of a couple of weeks. So I had to go strip the top again, go back, buy BIN (Kilz also is good) and then faux finish it again! I did this at least 15 years ago and the top is still holding up fine.

I would probably paint it the satin or semigloss version of the wallcolor, or a shade or two deeper, so as to not give it too much emphasis.

I agree with Pal.

I would not paint it a color to look like wood.

Maybe you can paint it black. Looking at your inspiration pictures it looks like it would work. Also with black, the cubbies might just disappear more and be less noticeable.

I used to have a cubby headboard, I can understand why you'd want to keep it especially if you don't have room for night stands.

Annie, that's great! You're very talented. :) I'm in total agreement with your praise of BIN! My cabinets are the same fake wood laminate, and I primed with BIN before painting them white. For this project, I was hoping the gel stain would stick better (it worked over the factory finish on the dressers with just a scuff sanding and deglosser), so that the faux grain would show through and eliminate the need for me to create the grain! Perhaps I'll leave it for last and see if I'm up for that, if the other projects go smoothly. I've never heard of grocery bags for faux graining. Was it hard?

Pal & Dawnp, I wondered about painting the headboard to make it blend in. That's part of what prompted my post...I couldn't find an example like that, so I wasn't sure if it would work or look disconnected. It makes sense to de-emphasize a less attractive piece, though.

An idea I had as I was drifting off to sleep last night was to take off the back and decoupage green patterned scrapbook paper to it, like when people have put fun paper or fabric lining the back of their bookcases, then paint the rest of it dark brown or white. I'm not sure it's tall enough to show much of the paper, though, and that would have the opposite effect from blending it in.

I evaluated all the green spray paints at Ace (plus the copper patina kit, and brown hammered metallic), and nothing is quite the right shade to go with the wall color. The more I look at my inspiration pics, the more I think part of what appeals to me is the layering of greens. So, I think I'll mix up a quart of the next shade down on the color strip from the wall color. I still kinda like the paper decoupage idea for the back, even if it wouldn't show much.

If the green doesn't work out, lukkiirish, I'll probably be painting it black! Always a nice fall back option.

I just realized the lukki suggested de-emphasizing the cubbies, so maybe my decoupage idea isn't as cute as I thought... :p Paint alone is easier anyway.

No the crumpled plastic grocery bag thing was easy to do and it worked well. Usually when I approach a faux finishing project I come at it with a wide variety of tools to see what might work best...

I only suggested going with a deep brown or even an espresso color wood grain is because in 3 of the 4 inspiration pictures you posted, the bed is offset by a dark brown surround of some sort which acts like a frame for the bed against the green wall.

Annie- you're right about my inspiration pics, which is why I was thrown for a loop when my plan to gel stain wasn't working. I think I can adjust to the green headboard idea, but it wasn't my original vision. I wish I had a bedroom set that was wood, and then it would be pretty easy to achieve the look I'm after. I'm impressed by your transformation, but not sure I trust myself to do such a project that well!

I still have a mirror to stain, walls to paint, and dressers to poly. I'll toy around with headboard ideas in the meantime. I think I have enough stain to try a sample somewhere.

I was thinking an espresso paint/stain treatment if you are going to change the bedding. With what you have now, I'd go semigloss in the wall color or your trim color.

Thanks, lascatx. It's about warm enough to fold up the brown comforter for the season, which leaves a cream/burgandy/sage quilt as bedding...until I can get the white I'd like. However, I'm having second thoughts about white with our cats. I adore the look, though...perhaps I'll just have to use a lint roller daily?

No ultimate decision yet on headboard, as other things have taken precedence. New flooring was laid yesterday, and I'm second guessing the green I started painting on the walls.

I used a rougher sandpaper to scuff sand the headboard again and sprayed a little shellac on it (theory being that if shellac-based primer bonds to anything, perhaps shellac will work similarly as a clear primer). I'll try the stain again tonight. It would be really nice to have the furniture tie-in together after being mis-matched for so long. Painting it is still my back-up option.