Love, love, & more love!
You know, sometimes I believe that the universe lines up just to make me smile. I had just come to the conclusion that I wanted a vintage coffee table, and like magic there it was...now if that could happen with the mega millions I would be all set! I knew that the piece needed to be short for the space that I had in mind and it is. I've also considered possibly converting the table into a bench (perhaps still an option...playing with that thought currently--but moving right along).
I fell in love with the table instantly thanks to the carvings on the doors. I swear, I am a sucker for details! But the very best part of all was that the table was marked as $35 and everything was an additional half-off. That's right, I walked away with a vintage, solid wood table for less than eighteen dollars! Well..I really didn't walk away--getting that bad boy to my house was a story within itself . I never realized that a table could be so HEAVY.
Anyways, the table sat in my garage for a couple of weeks as I decided exactly what I wanted to do with it. From the beginning I knew that I would paint it. The tabletop had a funky type of inflection that I didn't care too much for and a shinny varnish that had to go as soon as possible. So I headed to the store to see what I could see. Eventually I settled on a purplish tone to match one of the colors in my settee. And so the real work began! Unfortunately, I can't recall the name of the color--it had some really fancy Bollywood type of name, but it's basically eggplant.
I got up early Saturday morning to get down to business. Here's what I used:
- A paint roller, brush, & pan
- Artist paint brush
- Painting tape
- Sand Paper
- Drill (to remove the doors)
- Cardboard (to catch any spills--no purple driveway for me)
- Primer
- Mineral Spirits (to clean the piece)
- Polyurethane (clear gloss)
Yup, I'm still rocking with the sample paint (2 bottles did the job) ;-)
These weren't in my stash, but my neighbor totally came to the rescue with these!
Thank God my neighbor happened to see what I was doing and came over with Primer and Mineral Spirits; I had no idea I needed those. Because I opted to get BEHR (paint and primer) I assumed that it would be sufficient. However, my neighbor informed me that for this type of project (furniture) it would be ideal for me to use and actual primer--and even gave me a can to use. I was very appreciative, there's nothing like a good neighbor. Little did I know, just that one change (priming) made my project a lot longer than I originally imagined. However, I suppose it was worth it to have it done right!
So let's start from the beginning. The first thing that I had to do was sand the table. If you have an electric sander I recommend that you use it if/when trying a similar project. I didn't have the luxury of having a electric sander. But honestly, going at it by hand wasn't too bad--you do what you have to. When sanding, be certain that you go in one direction in order not to mess up your project.
The second (and most tedious) step was to tape off everything that I didn't want painted.
Taping off the table. I had about three different ideas of what parts of the table I wanted to paint-- so deciding and then re-deciding made this already annoying process that much more worse!
I absolutely HATED this step, but if done correctly, it really does make for an easier process in the long run. Once everything was taped off I was ready to prime. Because of the painter's tape I was able to freely paint without the worry of any color getting on the parts of the table that I didn't want it to. Once I was done priming I let it sit for two hours--the time that I originally thought it would have taken me to complete the whole project. :-(
Primed. Getting an idea of the vision--watch out now!
After exactly two hours I began to paint--3 coats in all. After the table was semi-dry I removed the tape (be sure not to let your paint dry all the way while your tape is still on--if you do you run the risk of removing some of your paint with the tape). After removing the tape I reattached the doors and admired my work ;-) By the way, I chose not to swap out the handles which is also something you can do to change the look of the piece. I actually thought that the handles were gorg, so no use to meddle with perfection. I was done for the day--refusing to let another hour of my weekend go by consumed with this project. It was time to get away!
& painted :)
The next morning I was back at it. I woke up early once again and applied the 4th coat as well as cut in and touched up a few spots with a small artist paint brush. Then again, I waited to apply the polyurethane :-( Can you tell how much I love to wait? To apply, I simply took a clean towel, dipped it into the glaze and wiped it evenly across the table. FINALLY I was done. ;-D
And here's a pic of the final look:
Attempting to make sure everything matched...completely after the fact
My table in its new home! Xo. Decorating this monster is going to be a whole other beast-- you may can't tell from the picture, but the table is huge. What do you think I should put on it???
So there you have it, my old school upgrade. It's not for some, but I really enjoy mixing the old with the new. Just because something looks like it could have belonged to grandma doesn't mean you can't put your own stamp on it. I really like the way that this piece turned out, and I can't wait to put some pretty décor pieces on it--maybe even a plant or two. But for now, that's it. Until the next time guys....take care. Xo
Looks great babe!
ReplyDeleteThank you! :-D
DeleteGotta admit, didn't see ur vision when u first told me but dang, it came out nice, glad u didn't listen to me, Good Job! ; )
ReplyDelete:)!! Thanks! Glad you like it.
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