But, I digress. Back to my coffee table. I don't have any "before" pictures, but it was a pretty typical late 80's oak coffee table. I liked it because it was round, the right size, good and heavy, and had nice bones to it. Brad was less than thrilled with my purchase because at the time, he had just finished painting all the furniture in my guest room and vowed not to touch that table with a paint brush attached to a 39 1/2 foot pole. I promised him he wouldn't have to and after he moved it to the attic for me, it sat there for several months. Basically until I had exhausted all other "big" projects from about the same time (I had told myself I wasn't going to add any more to the to-do list until I finished what I already had on my plate) and it was the last one. The albatross around my neck.
So last weekend, I armed myself with paint clothes and paintbrush and got to work. I sanded it down first to remove some of the slick stain. Then rubbed quite a bit of it with a candle and gave it two coats of white paint. I think I might have given it three if I wasn't wanting to rub quite so much off to give it that "rustic" look. After those were good and dry, I hand sanded the table.
It turned out fan-TAS-tic!
(Sorry, it's not a great picture. Just take my word for it.)
After I had sanded and painted and painted some more and sanded again, Brad took pity on me and gave it a coat of polyurethane to make it bit more finished-looking and a little more kid-proof.
This is a picture of the "peeling" paint.
And the interesting feet.
The top needs a little love (like an old platter or something), mostly to discourage Phoebe from jumping from the couch to the coffee table to the ottoman on the other side.
I'm afraid that if she got into a wrestling match with this table, she wouldn't win. It's that heavy!
Now that I'm finished with the table, I can make another to-do list. At the top: curtains for my living room and Brad's office.
Oh wait, and the guest room and our bedroom.
And the playroom.
That should keep me busy till 2011.
4 comments:
I have one just like that in my attic! It is oak and needs some "attention" too! Right now, a coffee table is just not an option....because like Phoebe, Madden would be jumping from the couch to the coffee table. The difference is that Phoebe is probably old enough to mind you (or at least knows right from wrong) and Madden does not. But soon, I hope to be able to fill my house back up with all the lovely treasures I have had to store away!
You did a GREAT job! Love it!
Love it!! Great job.
Your comment about perfection reminded me of The Nester. Do you read her blog? If not, you should check her out. thenester.com
Love it! Way to go!!
That looks GREAT! I, too, have an old coffee table that could use some TLC. How long did that project take you (once you actually started working on it, I mean)?
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